The ability to develop textiles that actively deactivate microorganisms will have important military and commercial applications. Some applications include odor reduction during extended wear, reduction of infection, and bioterrorism protection. A system to test treated materials for their sporocidal ability was examined. Treated and untreated textiles were exposed to aerosolized Bacillus atrophaeus spores in a specially designed chamber that exposed a fabric sample to a nebulized and dry stream of spores. Spore viability on the fabric and penetration through the material was measured. Results show that there was a pronounced decrease in the recovery of viable spores due to the type of fabric treatment. The results also suggest some of this apparent sporicidal activity is due to particle repulsion effects at the surface of the sample as opposed to biocidal properties of the treatments. Results for different biocides and materials will be presented and discussed.
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