Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 2004 Folwell Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
Claros Technologies Inc., 1600 Broadway St NE, Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 15;12(1):17332. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22370-2.
Healthcare associated infections cause millions of hospitalizations and cost billions of dollars every year. A potential solution to address this problem is to develop antimicrobial textile for healthcare fabrics (hospital bedding, gowns, lab coats, etc.). Metal nanoparticle-coated textile has been proven to possess antimicrobial properties but have not been adopted by healthcare facilities due to risks of leaching and subsequent loss of function, toxicity, and environmental pollution. This work presents the development and testing of antimicrobial zinc nanocomposite textiles, fabricated using a novel Crescoating process. In this process, zinc nanoparticles are grown in situ within the bulk of different natural and synthetic fabrics to form safe and durable nanocomposites. The zinc nanocomposite textiles show unprecedented microbial reduction of 99.99% (4 log) to 99.9999% (6 log) within 24 h on the most common Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungal pathogens. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity remains intact even after 100 laundry cycles, demonstrating the high longevity and durability of the textile. Independent dermatological evaluation confirmed that the novel textile is non-irritating and hypoallergenic.
医疗相关感染每年导致数百万人住院治疗，耗费数十亿美元。解决这个问题的一个潜在方法是开发用于医疗织物（医院床上用品、长袍、实验服等）的抗菌纺织品。事实证明，金属纳米粒子涂层纺织品具有抗菌性能，但由于浸出和随后的功能丧失、毒性和环境污染的风险，尚未被医疗机构采用。本工作介绍了使用新型 Crescoating 工艺开发和测试抗菌锌纳米复合材料纺织品。在该工艺中，锌纳米颗粒在不同天然和合成织物的体相内原位生长，形成安全且耐用的纳米复合材料。在 24 小时内，锌纳米复合材料纺织品对最常见的革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌以及真菌病原体的微生物减少率达到 99.99%（4 对数）至 99.9999%（6 对数）。此外，即使经过 100 次洗涤循环，抗菌活性仍然保持完整，表明纺织品具有很高的耐用性和耐久性。独立的皮肤病学评估证实，新型纺织品无刺激性且不易致敏。
