New Antibacterial Textiles - Research News in Polymer InternationalJune 23, 2003Nano-sized silver particles open way to new breed of antimicrobial materials Scientists can now incorporate silver particles into polypropylene to produce an anti-microbial material that could be used in anything from carpets, to napkins and surgical masks. Silver has been medically proven to kill over 650 disease-causing organisms in the body and is also very safe. By combining silver and polypropylene to produce an organic-inorganic fibre, researchers have produced the first safe, anti-microbial fibre with a wide range of possible applications. Polypropylene fibre is one of the most widely used synthetic fibres in the textile industry because it is cheaper and stronger than other synthetic fibres. Researchers have demonstrated, in a paper to be published in the July issue of Polymer International, available online in June, that they can produce two types of fibres both with silver particles distributed evenly along the length of the fibre. Prof. Sung H. Jeong and his graduate student Sang Y. Yeo from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, used nano-sized silver particles to maximising the surface area and give the optimum antibacterial effect. They found that the fibres containing silver in the core part had no antimicrobial activity. However, the fibres that included silver in the sheath part showed excellent antibacterial effect. According to Sung Hoon Jeong, "Even though they only contain a small amount of silver our new fibres have excellent antibacterial properties, and the physical properties are not effected so they could be used in a wide range of applications." John Wiley & Sons |
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| Related Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Exposure to both traffic, indoor pollutants puts some kids at higher risk for asthma later New research presents strong evidence that the "synergistic" effect of early-life exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone. New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA-an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics-poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers for monitoring climate change in the polar regions. Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines. Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters (~3 miles) below the ocean waves. Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury. On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites. Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. More Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles |
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