In 2005 the global market for hospital textiles, which includes bedding, uniforms, operating theatre materials, curtains, upholstery, wound dressings and bandages, compression stockings, etc, was valued at €5.08 bln as per Global Industry Analysts. This is forecast to rise by 4.5% a year to €6.4 bln in 2010, of which €4 bln is for surgical applications and €2.4 bln for other medical end-uses. Hospitals are using textiles with barrier effects that are aimed at • preventing contamination of bacteria from patients to employees and vice-versa • protecting employees from contamination through biological liquids • protecting the environment Several anti-microbial additives like silver ions already exist, but their effect can quickly disappear as they are destroyed during washing cycles. Output from a new project could lead to a dramatic reduction in hospital-acquired infections. An additive technology that produces anti-bacterial textiles has been developed by a team of researchers led by Devan Chemicals of Belgium. The anti-bacterial textiles can be used to make a range of hospital products such as bed sheets, nurses' uniforms, pillow cases, other hospital textile products. Devan's project is aimed to develop longer-lasting anti-microbial textiles for use in hospitals as they are resistant to microbial attack, and can withstand multiple industrial washing cycles at 80°C. The project's aim was to cut down on hospital-acquired infections, of which around one-sixth are picked up from textiles. The partners made and tested several textile formulations that incorporated two of Devan's proprietary molecules: Aegis, a quaternary silane anti-bacterial treatment; and Nanolink, a polymer 'pre-coat' that helps to stick the Aegis molecules to the surface. Aegis offers the advantages of killing several bacteria types, but does not migrate from the surface. Nanolink improves the way that the Aegis molecules stick to the fiber, and helps achieve many wash cycles without losing the anti microbial effect. Aegis can also keep dust mites at bay, by killing the yeast that they feed on. The sheets, made from a 50/50 mix of cotton and polyester, were trialed at a hospital in France, while the uniforms were trialed at a hospital in Italy. The Pasteur Institute in Lille tested both for bacterial growth. The treated sheets were found to reduce bacteria by at least 80% even after 50 washes. A similar effect was seen for the uniforms. Devan was one of 44 partners taking part in Flexifunbar, an €11 mln, four-year project set up to develop flexible materials that combined at least two properties - such as flame retardancy, thermal and sound insulation and protection against UV, bacteria and odours. Target applications were identified in building, transport, health and personal protection. The project was instigated by the textiles industry, in order to develop 'added value' products that could compete against cheaper imported materials. The researchers hoped to combine several functions into a single material by altering its micro- or nano-structure. Hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections are a major financial issue in the European healthcare system. The financial impact of these infections counteract medical advances and expensive medical treatments by increasing the length of hospital stay by at least 8 days on an average per affected patient, adding over 10 million patient days in hospitals in Europe per year. The statistics on patient safety in the EU show alarming tendencies : 1 in 10 patients are affected by hospital-acquired infections - 3 million deaths are caused by hospital-acquired infections An active infection control program of patients and personnel and hygiene measures, have proven to significantly reduce both the number of infections and hospitalisation costs. The SONO project directly addresses these problems by developing a pilot line for the production of medical antibacterial textiles. The pilot line will be based on the scale-up of a sonochemical process developed and patented at BIU laboratories. The pilot line will use a sonochemical technique to produce and deposit inorganic, antimicrobial nanoparticles on medical textiles, e.g. hospital sheets, medical coats and bandages. Sonicators are used industrially for heavy and light duty cleaning, for water disinfection and for sewage treatment. It is also used in the food industry for emulsification and drying. The proposed concept based on one step sonochemical process to produce nanoparticles and impregnate them as antibacterial factors on textile is novel and does not exist on an industrial scale. The concept has already been proven (and patented) on a lab scale where sonochemistry was applied to impregnate nanoparticles in a single-step process. It was demonstrated that due to the special properties of the sonochemical method the antibacterial nanoparticles are adsorbed permanently on the fibres even after 70 “laundry cycles”. The sonochemical impregnation process is a one-step procedure in which the nanoparticles are produced and impregnated into the textile. The project is expected to be completed by H2-2013 and is being conducted by 17 partners from Israel, Russia, UK, Spain, Romania and several EU nations.