Liquid metal coating creates effective antiviral, antimicrobial fabric


Date:
September 28, 2021
Source:
North Carolina State University
Summary:
Researchers used liquid gallium to create an antiviral and
antimicrobial coating and tested it on a range of fabrics, including
face masks. The coating adhered more strongly to fabric than some
conventional metal coatings, and eradicated 99% of several common
pathogens within five minutes.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An international team of researchers used liquid gallium to create an
antiviral and antimicrobial coating and tested it on a range of fabrics, including facemasks. The coating adhered more strongly to fabric than
some conventional metal coatings, and eradicated 99% of several common pathogens within five minutes.


========================================================================== "Microbes can survive on the fabrics hospitals use for bedding, clothing
and face masks for a long time," says Michael Dickey, co-corresponding
author of a paper on the work and Camille & Henry Dreyfus Professor
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State
University. "Metallic surface coatings such as copper or silver are an effective way to eradicate these pathogens, but many metal particle
coating technologies have issues such as non-uniformity, processing
complexity, or poor adhesion." Dickey and colleagues from NC State, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Korea and RMIT University in Australia
set out to develop a simple, cost-effective way to deposit metal coatings
on fabric.

First, the researchers placed liquid gallium (Ga) into an ethanol solution
and used sound waves -- a process known as sonication -- to create Ga nanoparticles. The nanoparticle solution was then spray coated onto the
fabric and the Ga adhered to the fibers as the ethanol evaporated.

Then the researchers dipped the Ga-coated fabric into a copper sulfate solution, creating a spontaneous galvanic replacement reaction. The
reaction deposits copper onto the fabric, creating a coating of liquid
metal copper alloy nanoparticles.

To test the coated fabric's antimicrobial properties, the research team
exposed the fabric to three common microbes: Staphylococcus aureus,
Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. These microbes grow aggressively
on non-coated fabrics.

The copper alloy coated fabric eradicated over 99% of the pathogens
within five minutes, which was significantly more effective than control samples coated with only copper.

The team collaborated with Elisa Crisci, assistant professor of virology
at NC State, and Frank Scholle, associate professor of biological sciences
at NC State, to show that the coatings also work against viruses. The
coatings were tested against human influenza (H1N1) and coronavirus
(HCoV 229E, which is in the same family as SARS-CoV-2). The coatings
eradicated the viruses after five minutes.

"Our tests indicate that these liquid metal-copper coated fabrics
demonstrate superior antimicrobial performance compared to other copper
coated surfaces and two commercial antimicrobial facemasks that rely on
copper and silver respectively," says Vi Khanh Truong, Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow at RMIT University, visiting Fulbright Scholar and co-corresponding author of the research.

"This is a better method for generating metal coatings of fabrics,
particularly for antimicrobial applications, both in terms of adhesion
and antimicrobial performance," says Ki Yoon Kwon, postdoctoral associate
at SKKU and first author of the work.

"It could also work with metals other than copper, such as silver,"
says Tae-il Kim, co-corresponding author of the research and professor
at SKKU. "It is also a simple method, which should be relatively straightforward to scale up for mass production." The research appears inAdvanced Materials and is supported by the National Research Foundation
of Korea. Visiting Fulbright Scholar Samuel Cheeseman of RMIT University
also contributed to the work.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
North_Carolina_State_University. Original written by Tracey Peake. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ki Yoon Kwon, Samuel Cheeseman, Alba Frias‐De‐Diego,
Haeleen
Hong, Jiayi Yang, Woojin Jung, Hong Yin, Billy J. Murdoch, Frank
Scholle, Nathan Crook, Elisa Crisci, Michael D. Dickey, Vi Khanh
Truong, Tae‐il Kim. A Liquid Metal Mediated Metallic Coating
for Antimicrobial and Antiviral Fabrics. Advanced Materials, 2021;
2104298 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202104298 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210928151825.htm

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