IIT-Delhi in collaboration with an industrial organization have innovated a fabric to keep wearers away from the embarrassment of sweating.
As per sources, Smart Materials and Innovative Textile Applications (SMITA), a research lab of IIT-Delhi, has developed a nano-science based application, which imparts the fabric with antimicrobial property, which destroys the odor in spite of presence of sweat on the fabric.
Ashwini Agrawal, a professor at IIT-Delhi, who developed the innovative product together with his colleague Manjeet Jassal and then PhD student Sangita Paul, has said that the fabric smells due to presence of microbes on it, and their innovation involving nanosilver does not let the these microbes grow. Hence, it is odor free.
Mr Agrawal mentioned that they took silver, which is known to have antimicrobial properties, to the nanoscale, that is one billionth part in a metric system, and embedded its particles (less than 1 part per million) in the fabric, to allow it to maintain its original color and features. He added that after evolving the idea in 2007, it was a main challenge for them to guarantee stability of the nanofinishes after washing, and at the same time also not allowing the fabric to lose its color.
Furthermore, sources informed that several tests have conducted to ensure that the fabric preserves nearly 100 percent anti-microbial property at very low silver concentrations, and maintains durability for over 30 washes, which is the lifetime durability standard set by the industry for any fabric. Also, it has obtained safety tests certification from German organization Oeko-Tek.
The unique fabric has been developed with financial aid from the Indian Government, Bangalore-based textile chemicals firm RESIL Chemicals, Department of Science and Technology and others. Sources have added that the fabric is now commercially available in India and Europe. Besides, it was also showcased at 'I2Tech Open House', recently organized at the IIT-Delhi.
