Another important claim is this antimicrobial treatment can be applied to a product at any point in the supply chain ? either during textile production, at point of sale or in consumer end-use. In contrast, other competing technologies require application of the antimicrobial in the manufacturing process.
The anti-microbial treatment is said to be fully scalable and is available for licensing from UGARF, and is expected to stimulate interest from the medical textile sector. According to the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one of every 20 hospitalised patients will contract a health care-associated infection. Lab coats, scrub suits, uniforms, gowns, gloves and linens are known to host bacteria that cause patient infections.
Other potential markets for the anti-microbial technology include next-to-skin clothing and home textiles such as bedding if strict consumer safety tests are successfully passed.
If the technology can successfully crack this market then who knows, it may well be able to be refined and further developed to take on the much more established dyeing and coating sectors of the industry where big environmental challenges are widespread.
Image: © Ali Ender Birer | Dreamstime.com
