Enabling fabrics with active ingredients for antimicrobial, hygienic and other features

Highlights

• The textile industry is seeking advanced functional fabrics that exhibit additional features such as pleasant scents or the ability to deodorize or kill microorganisms.
• Current methods for imparting functional properties are limited in their ability to incorporate and maintain active materials
• There is a need for a mechanism for incorporating significant loads of active additive and then releasing the additives during normal human activity

Our Innovation

Polymeric nano-structures able to harbor and release molecules that impart unique properties to fibers are grafted onto the surface of the yarn. Changes in temperature cause coiling and uncoiling of the nano-structures, enabling them to be loaded with additives at low temperatures. Increase in temperature allows slow diffusion of the additives out of the fabric.

Key Features

• Nano-structures enable loading of wide variety of additives
• Enables loading of significant quantities of desired additives
• Provides method for controlled release of additives as required

Development Milestones

Seeking cooperation for development of technology for different applications

The Opportunity

• May be used to produce scent- or deodorant-releasing clothing fabric
• Can be used to incorporate antimicrobial agents in clothing and other fabrics
• Nano-powders may be incorporated into the yarn surface to block UV radiation

project-id 6-2006-391

Patent pending