Enzyme-enhanced fabrics that inactivate pathogens

Abstract

The invention provides fabrics that incorporate enzymes that inactivate microbial pathogens, particularly enveloped viral particles such as those of Influenza virus and Coronavirus such as Covid-19. The fabrics of the invention may be used in the production of various items including protective facemasks.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The embodiments of the present invention relate to fabrics into which enzymes have been stably incorporated such that upon contact they inactivate aerosolized pathogenic microbes including enveloped viruses such as Coronavirus and Influenza virus and Gram negative bacteria. The fabrics of the invention may be used in the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) including disposable face masks, surgical gowns and head coverings, shoe coverings, clothes and bedding.BACKGROUND[0002]Many human illnesses are transmitted from one individual to another by aerosols or by fomites. Viruses, bacteria and prions are the causative agents of many serious diseases which cause public health emergencies and consequent economic devastation.[0003]The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was caused by an H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people around the world (about 27% of the then world population) and is estimated to have killed about 60 million people. Annual ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides fabrics that contain low temperature enzymes that can kill harmful viruses, bacteria, and prions on contact. This makes the fabrics useful for making protective facemasks and PPE.

Problems solved by technology

The person-to-person transmission of influenza virus by aerosols and fomites, especially in the event of a pandemic caused by a highly virulent agent, is of great concern due to widespread mortality and morbidity.

Current masks concentrate particles on their surfaces, increasing the probability of introduction of an infectious dose to the user if they touch the mask and subsequently touch their nose, mouth or eyes.

Breathing through a mask can become tiresome due to inherent air resistance through the fabric and moisture buildup.

Air resistance and discomfort leads to frequent desire to remove or adjust the mask—therefore the mask is frequently touched, adjusted, removed, pocketed and refitted, leading to frequent handling of the contaminated outer surface.

This solution would therefore be counterproductive.

Copper and silver-containing anti-microbial facemasks that are currently being produced reduce growth of bacteria and fungi in the mask material, but are not efficient at killing or inactivating a significant proportion of viruses entering or passing through the mask.

Any killing effect that is theoretically possible is only provided on contact with the metal, and the vast majority of the surface area of such masks does not incorporate an effective proportion of metal ions.

Making these masks anti-viral using this approach would require adding a proportion of metal to the material that would make the mask both extremely uncomfortable to wear and prohibitively expensive.

Consequently, this solution is impractical.

Although this design is theoretically possible, there are several potential difficulties and disadvantages in the design.

These enzymes are not commercially available easily or cheaply or in large quantities.

They must be created and manufactured by complex and expensive biological processes.

Certainly they are not readily available in 2020 during the present COVID-19 outbreak.

Secondly, the University of Kentucky mask, when in use, will not necessarily create an appropriate chemical and osmotic environment for the proteases to adopt the correct confirmation that will be required for enzyme activity.

Thirdly the University of Kentucky (UK) mask only uses specific protease enzymes that bind only to the coronavirus spike protein.

Fourth, the enzymes used in the UK mask are not and have not been designed to be active at low temperatures, such as at room temperatures, for example 10-20 degrees centigrade.

Therefore they will not function efficiently as room temperatures.

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