Textile produces detergent-like chemicals to fight superbugs

The team claims that its nanomaterial additive can be easily incorporated into existing industrial textile finishing for applications such as hospital drapes, bed linens and upholstery.

Using nanomaterials in fabrics is not a new idea, but current technologies generally rely on passive processes such as the natural antibiotic properties of silver.

‘We wanted to stay away from silver on its own,’ said Dr Syed Tofail of the Materials and Surface Science Institute at Limerick University. ’Although it is an excellent antibacterial material, it has some leeching properties and there are some safety issues.’

The researchers began experimenting with a group of transition metal oxides that display photocatalytic properties — that is, when activated by light they can split air-bound water molecules into oxygen ions akin to those found in many detergents.

The various oxygen ions formed are referred to in the biological context as reactive oxygen species (ROSs), which enter the bacterial cell and damage its DNA, rendering it pathologically inert.