Thanks to the use of nanotechnology, a team of scientists from the National University of Engineering (UNI) manufactured fabrics with antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties, a fundamental input for the manufacture of various types of clothing that could prevent the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Andina news agency, the alliance between UNI and the company of Tejidos San Jacinto SA, with the support of Concytec and the World Bank, has finalized the start of industrial production.
The company makes three types of fabrics: the first type is 100% cotton, the second called Pesco, 65% cotton and 35% polyester, and the third type is 100% polyester.
The production of these textiles is the result of the scientific research project led by Dr. José Luis Solís Véliz, whose process of functionalizing textile fibers with nanoparticles has been registered and has an invention patent granted by the Directorate of Inventions and New s (DIN) of Indecopi in 2020.
The UNI researcher pointed out that he is in the final stage of the investigation and explained that the process consists of the functionalization of textile fibers with nanoparticles of copper oxide (CuO) using the impregnation technique used in the textile industry. to dye fabrics.
"Our innovation consists of using the same technique for dyeing fabrics and, instead of using dyes, we use a copper salt solution and we have optimized the process," said Dr. Solís.
He highlighted the use of supplies found in the national market and the production of various types of fabrics for different applications such as clothing for medical and hospital personnel, cleaning and security personnel, mining industry, masks, etc.
He immediately pointed out that these fabrics are called ANTA-TEX (copper textile), anta is a Quechua word that means copper and tex in relation to textiles.
Validation against the new coronavirus in progress
The validation of the antiviral properties was carried out at the Nelson Labs Laboratory in the United States using the Human Corona Virus (229E) under the ISO 18184 Textiles – Determination of Antiviral Activity of Textiles Products standard.
However, Dr. Solís specified that the validation of the property of inactivating SARS-CoV-2 is still pending, whose tests are being carried out in an Italian laboratory.
Likewise, he indicated that, in addition to the antimicrobial properties, the fabrics are resistant to sweat and maintain their characteristics up to 25 washes, whose validation was carried out in the Intertek de Guatemala SA laboratory under the ASTM E2 149 – 13a standard.
