Nanomaterials that destroy even the most resistant bacteria that cause nosocomial infections have been developed by scientists from the Wrocław University of Technology, the Medical Academy in Wrocław and the Irish University of Limerick.
The new technology developed by scientists consists in coating fabrics with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, which give the material bactericidal properties. The director of the institute of biomedical and measurement engineering at the Wrocław University of Technology, prof. Halina Podbielska, under the influence of light, nanomaterials start destroying bacteria by themselves.
If, however, a bacterium does not want to detach, we clean the material covered with nanoparticles in a photo-sterilizer specially designed by us, using UV rays. The savings in this type of action are huge, because disposable aprons are used in huge amounts, and our fabrics can be used many times – said Podbielska.
She emphasized that nanoparticles can be used in the future to cover not only medical gowns, but also curtains and carpets, and thus prevent the transmission of bacteria by staff or hospital guests. Our invention can also be used, for example, to cover towels in hotels and swimming pools, chairs in dental offices, seat covers in airplanes – she enumerated.
Jacek Żegliński from the University of Limerick noted that scientists are trying to use the smallest number of molecules and attach them as tightly as possible to the tested material. The point is not to let them detach from the fabric, e.g. during washing in a washing machine. Visually, the material covered with nanoparticles does not differ from ordinary ones, because they are so small that the unaided eye will not notice them – said Żegliński.
Work on textiles with antibacterial properties was carried out by a consortium implementing the BioElectricSurface project, funded by the European Commission (PAP).