Most antimicrobial wipes, which are predominantly made of synthetic fibers like polyester and polypropylene, are discarded after a single use and end up in landfills where they can stay for hundreds of years and become a source of environmental microplastic fiber pollution.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently developed sustainable machine-washable antimicrobial wipes that can be used at least 30 times for cleaning hard and nonporous surfaces.
There has been a remarkable increase in the use of antimicrobial wipes due to the growing awareness of personal health protection. According to the Antimicrobial Wipes Market Outlook report, the worldwide antimicrobial wipes market is estimated to reach $21.6 billion by 2030.
ARS researchers developed antimicrobial wipes by using raw cotton fiber that naturally produced silver nanoparticles inside the fiber in the presence of a silver precursor. These embedded silver nanoparticles can then release silver ions that act as antibacterial agents and kill harmful bacteria.
According to Nam, people will be able to clean surfaces by wetting the antimicrobial cloths with tap water and then wiping surfaces. In their research, scientists found that the wipes killed 99.9% of harmful bacteria S. aureus and P. aeruginosa on surfaces.
The technology behind this research is advantageous in several aspects. It omits the conventional pretreatments of raw cotton fibers (such as scouring and bleaching), which consume a large number of chemicals and energy. It does not require any chemical agents except for a silver precursor.
It also transforms cotton fibers themselves into antimicrobial agents rather than serving as a carrier of antimicrobial agents, which is what makes them reusable. The antimicrobial wipes are made from natural cotton fibers, rather than conventional petroleum-based synthetic fibers.
To reuse the wipes, people can simply wash them in the laundry. By developing reusable and washable antimicrobial wipes, Nam and her colleagues are aiming to find sustainable alternatives to reduce environmental waste from the disposal of single-use antimicrobial wipes.
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.