Bacteria-Killing Textiles Can Prevent Hospital Infections

News from Spain informs us that a team of specialists has recently succeeded in designing and manufacturing so-called bacteria-killing textiles.

Apparently, this new fabric brought forth by researchers working with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech has nanoparticles which help keep bacteria at bay incorporated within its make-up.

This means that, regardless of where the person wearing an item of clothing made from this material goes, bacteria are not given the opportunity to come along for the ride.

The Verge explains that, in order to develop this new fabric, researchers had to use adhesive enzymes which helped them embed said antimicrobial nanoparticles in a given piece of cloth.

In order to make sure these nanoparticles stayed attached to the threads, the specialists had to resort to ultrasonic radiation, which supposedly helps up the efficiency of the adhesive enzymes.

Contrary to popular belief, public hospitals are not as clean as patients would want them to be, meaning that, as a result of having a lot of people going in and coming out of them on a daily basis, these public buildings are quite rich in terms of bacterial diversity.

Therefore, the scientists who developed these bacteria-killing textiles hope that, should doctors and nurses agree to wear items of clothing (gowns, in particular) made from this innovative fabric, it would be much easier to make sure that various types of bacteria do not travel from one patient to another.

“The statistics on patient safety in the EU show alarming tendencies : - 1 in 10 patients are affected by hospital-acquired infections - 3 million deaths are caused by hospital-acquired infections,” reads the official website for this EU-funded research project.

Furthermore, “An active infection control program of patients and personnel and hygiene measures, have proven to significantly reduce both the number of infections and hospitalization costs.”

Apparently, this bacteria-killing fabric has a lifespan of 70 laundry cycles, and the specialists who developed it hope that it will soon start being used in hospitals all across Europe.