Safe and Eco-friendly Antimicrobial Materials with High Efficiency
Principal Investigators: Prof. TAO Xiaoming, Director, Research Centre of Smart Wearable Technology, Vincent and Lily Woo Endowed Professorship in Textiles Technology, Chair Professor of Textile Technology, School of Fashion and TextilesDr ZHANG Ziheng, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Fashion and Textiles, CEO, Ecolar Technology Limited (a PolyU Academic-led start-up)
Novel proprietary technologies have been developed to prepare highly-efficient, eco-friendly antimicrobial polyhydroxyalkanoate oligomers (PHAOs), which can be used as disinfectants, finishing agents for personal protective equipment, and in PHAO/PA blend yarns.
The new PHAO materials are fully biodegradable, transparent, non-toxic and non-allergic, with excellent wide-spectrum antimicrobial properties. They can achieve a high antimicrobial reduction of > 99.99% against S. Aureus, K. pneumoniae, C. albicans and Methicillin-resistant S. aureus, the COVID-19 virus, and the H1N1 and H3N2 viruses, indicating their promising application as medical materials.
Compared with current commercial antimicrobial agents, these new PHAO materials are more effective against microbes. They are also safer, more biodegradable, cheaper, and emit less carbon. PHAOs make possible a greener, safer, more hygienic, and healthier way of life.