Researchers Create PPE Fabric Coating That Repels Viruses Even After Multiple Washes

When COVID-19 hit the world, we saw a rise in demand in protective suits and equipment and in no time the stocks depleted.

The production in the initial stages wasn¡¯t able to keep up with the demand, and even today that equilibrium hasn¡¯t been hit. This made the researchers look for ways to reuse PPE without affecting its protective nature.

Reuters

And, now researchers from LAMP Lab at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering (published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces) have created a coating for textile that is not only capable of repelling liquids like blood and saliva but also repel viruses.

Anthony Galante, a Ph.D. student in industrial engineering at the university and lead author of the paper said, "Recently there's been a focus on blood-repellent surfaces, and we were interested in achieving this with mechanical durability. We want to push the boundary on what is possible with these types of surfaces, and especially given the current pandemic, we knew it'd be important to test against viruses."

The coating is capable of withstanding ultrasonic washing, scrubbing and scraping, something that other coatings can¡¯t really stand against.

Paul Leu, co-author of the study states, "The durability is very important because there are other surface treatments out there, but they're limited to disposable textiles. You can only use a gown or mask once before disposing of it. Given the PPE shortage, there is a need for coatings that can be applied to reusable medical textiles that can be properly washed and sanitized."

AFP

Researchers also wanted to test the coating¡¯s effectiveness against viruses. So they teamed up with Charles T. Campbell Microbiology Lab¡¯s research director Eric Romanowski and director of basic research, Robert Shanks in the Department of Ophthalmology at Pitt, to test the coating against a strain of adenovirus.

Romanowski explained, "As this fabric was already shown to repel blood, protein and bacteria, the logical next step was to determine whether it repels viruses. We chose human adenovirus types 4 and 7, as these are causes of acute respiratory disease as well as conjunctivitis (pink eye).¡±

He added, ¡°It was hoped that the fabric would repel these viruses similar to how it repels proteins, which these viruses essentially are: proteins with nucleic acid inside. As it turned out, the adenoviruses were repelled in a similar way as proteins."

Reuters

Researchers claim the coating may be applicable in a variety of ways -- everything from hospital gowns to waiting room benches to even bed linen.

However, this isn¡¯t it. Researchers are also looking to see its efficacy against betacoronaviruses. According to Romanowski, "If the treated fabric would repel betacoronaviruses, and in particular SARS-CoV-2, this could have a huge impact for healthcare workers and even the general public if PPE, scrubs, or even clothing could be made from protein, blood-, bacteria-, and virus-repelling fabrics."