lanosol

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  • Algae-based thread will keep your clothes odor-free

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    10.01.2014

    If you're worried that the silver ions in antibacterial and anti-odor clothing might also pose serious health risks, like destroying genetic material, you'll be glad to hear that there should soon be a safer alternative. The KTH Royal Institute of Technology has developed an antibacterial thread that uses a mix of bio-compatible plastics and lanosol, a bacteria-fighting compound that you normally find in red algae. The material should not only be a less contentious germ-killer than silver, but more effective. Because it's woven into super-thin fibers through electrospinning (which uses electrical charges to draw thread from liquid), the antiseptic element doesn't clump up and leave some areas unprotected.