Barrier Protective Properties of Nanoparticle Treated Textiles as a Tool for Infection Control in the Health Care Setting

Background:

Current CDC Guidelines state “Health care workers (HCW) who have contact with patients, body fluids, or specimens have a higher risk of acquiring or transmitting infections. HCW may also acquire infections from or transmit infections to patients, other personnel, household members, or other community contacts.”  An average of 56.5 Blood and Bodily Fluid contacts per healthcare worker per year has been reported by the International Center for Health Care Worker Safety.  The FDA states “A safe and effective barrier device can protect both the patient and HCW from the transfer of microorganisms or bodily fluids during procedures and is important in preventing infections.”   Textiles worn by HCW and patients have been shown to be colonized with high levels of microbes in multiple studies.  Studies report HCW and patient textiles providing better protection when a finish possessing fluid repellency and antimicrobial properties is applied.

Objective:

We studied the VTT003 finish to assess the protective properties of a polyester/cotton blended treated fabric.  The VTT003 finish uses chemically impregnated nanoparticles of fluorocarbon with a broad spectrum organosilane based antimicrobial to create fluid barrier protection on textiles. This finish creates a fluid barrier on the fabric surface, while allowing for perspiration exchange.  Testing was conducted to determine if VTT003 is suited for protecting HCW and patients from contaminants in the health care setting.       

Methods:

To assess the performance of VTT003, five standard tests were conducted by independent laboratories to evaluate VTT003’s protective properties.  The following tests were performed using standard laboratory methods of each protocol: AATCC 42 – 2000 Water Resistance, AATCC Test Method 127-1989, Water Resistance: Hydrostatic Pressure, ASTM ES-21-1992, Resistance of Protective Clothing to Synthetic Blood, ISO/13795-3:2001 Dry Bacterial Penetration, ISO13795-4:2001 Wet Bacterial Penetration

 

Results:

The following table 1.1 summarizes the results of the tests: 

Table 1.1

Test	Conditions	Results
Water Resistance	Grams of Water Absorbed	Negligible
Hydrostatic Pressure	Pressure to First 3 Drops	13cm
Synthetic Blood	2psi	Pass
Dry Bacterial Penetration	Bacillus subtilis – ATCC 6633	>99.99
Wet Bacterial Penetration	Staphylococcus aureus – ATCC 6538	ERP 6.0 /6.0  (No Penetratio

Conclusions:

Textiles treated with the VTT003 finish passed all five standard tests for evaluating products for use in the health care setting.  Further testing of VTT003 performance is warranted.  Reducing the transmission of blood, bodily fluids, and other contaminants via HCW and patient worn textiles is of vital importance in occupational safety and infection control programs.