Zinc-embedded nylon fabric provides excellent antiviral properties

Dr.
Vikram Gopal, CTO of Ascend Performance Materials, said that the main challenges in neutralizing COVID-19 and other airborne viruses involve uptake and inactivation
.
"Respiratory viral diseases, such as COVID-19 and influenza, are transmitted through droplets and aerosols
.
The commonly used material for disposable masks, PP, is a hydrophobic plastic that does not absorb moisture
.
Instead, the virus attaches to the surface of the mask, which is difficult to handle when handling the mask.
risk of transmission
," Gopal said
.
Gopal added that while cotton masks are effective at absorbing moisture, they do not inactivate the virus and again pose a risk of transmission
.
However, a nylon fabric embedded with zinc ions has been shown to inactivate 99% of the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the common flu
.

An international team of scientists and engineers from the University of Cambridge, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the ResInnova Laboratory and Ascend Performance Materials has demonstrated that a fabric made of nylon 66 intercalated with active zinc ions absorbs virus-containing water droplets and effectively inactivates them
.
The fabric reduced virions by 2 logs, or 99%, in one hour
.
The research is described in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials Interface
.

The research team was also able to demonstrate that nylon containing active zinc ions remained stable over time, maintaining its virus-inactivating properties after 50 washes
.

"This study shows that zinc-containing nylon fabrics outperform widely used cotton and PP materials in terms of viral absorption and inactivation," said Gopal, a co-author of the paper
.
This finding has important implications for the future development of personal protective equipment
.
He added: “Pathogen-free PPE does more than reduce the risk of virus transmission
.
By making PPE washable and reusable, it can also reduce the need for single-use products and keep hundreds of millions of masks out of the trash.
Buried
.
"

The Acteev technology, developed by Ascend Performance Materials, intercalates active zinc ions into a polymer matrix
.
Ascend added that Acteev Protect fabrics, filter media and engineered plastics provide breakthrough protection for masks, apparel, upholstery, air filters, high-touch surfaces and more
.