Wiping away infection risks

A researcher from Cornell University has developed a moist wipe which can detect bacteria, viruses and other dangerous substances in hospitals, aeroplanes and in food processing.

‘It’s very inexpensive, it wouldn’t require that someone be highly trained to use it, and it could be activated for whatever you want to find,’ said Margaret Frey, the Lois and Mel Tukman Assistant Professor of Fibre Science and Apparel Design at Cornell.

‘So if you’re working in a meat-packing plant, for instance, you could swipe it across some hamburger and quickly and easily detect E. coli bacteria.’

Once fully developed, the biodegradable absorbent wipe would contain nanofibres containing antibodies to numerous biohazards and chemicals and would signal by changing colour or through another effect when the antibodies attached to their targets. Users would simply wipe the napkin across a surface. If a biohazard were detected, the surface could be disinfected and retested with another napkin to be sure it was no longer contaminated.