Page 80 - April-May 2021

80 World’s first highly absorbent 81

Noble Biomaterial introduces nanostructures made from

durable antimicrobial finish recycled polyester

Noble Biomaterials, based in Scranton, Philadelphia, healthcare, industrial, and emerging wearable
is launching Ionic+ Durable as a new silver-based technology markets. The novel solution meets or
fabric finish that is an effective way to deliver exceeds the state-of-market performance. While the
antimicrobial benefits. Noble Biomaterials USA has application has achieved a 50x wash durability rating,
announced the release of the new durable the self-cleaning, odor-eliminating ionized silver will
antimicrobial finish for textiles. The trade name of the ensure fewer washes to conserve water, energy, and
new finish is Ionic+ Durable. The finish is a natural resources and reduce fabric degradation
silver-based fabric finish that is a practical, time.
reasonable way to deliver antimicrobial benefits. It is
applied at the finishing stage, allowing for maximum The self-cleaning, odor-eliminating ionized silver is
design freedom and production flexibility. designed to ensure fewer washes to help conserve
water, energy, and natural resources, as well as
Noble Biomaterial is a global leader in antimicrobial reduce fabric degradation over time. The new
and conductivity finishing solutions for various soft solution is the result of years of innovation and
surfaces. The company produces advanced material research into the benefits of ionic silver, according to
technologies designed for performance apparel, Joel Furey, co-founder and chief commercial officer.

Smart clothes for athletic

training, rehabilitation,

Nanofront ultra-fine polyester from recycled materials is the innovation of Teijin Frontier, Japan. These are the
and health monitoring World’s first highly absorbent nanostructures made from recycled polyesters. The created capillarity inside the
structure enhances water absorption and diffusion. Its grip properties result from nano-sized irregularities on
the fiber surface, which creates friction. In filter materials, its fine pores and high void structure also improve
its functionalities.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), more typical textile fibers alongside a small amount
scientists have developed smart clothes for motion of custom-made functional fibers that sense pressure Key to the development is new polymer-control and spinning techniques for its proprietary ‘sea-island
detection to be used in athletic training, rehabilitation, from the person wearing the garment. composite-fiber processing technology”. The technology distributes two types of polymers into the fiber’s sea
and health monitoring. Among the many benefits and island parts. It then dissolves and removes the sea part using an alkaline treatment, extracting only the
promised by the smart fabric, the revolution has been The team's clothes have a range of capabilities. Their island part as raw yarn.
the "consumerization of health care." Wearables socks predict motion by looking at how different
enable the remote monitoring of a wide range of sequences of tactile footprints correlate to varying Teijin Frontier believes this technology will enable it to produce all of its polyester fiber products with recycled
chronic medical conditions, from diabetes, high poses as the user transitions from one pose to raw materials in the future, including sportswear, functional clothing, industrial uniforms, and more. It forecasts
blood pressure, and congestive heart failure (CHF) to another. The full-sized vest can also detect the sales from the development of 300 million yen in 2021 and 800 million yen in 2025. The demand for recycling
symptoms of disease, discomfort, and stress. wearers' pose, activity, and texture of the contacted
surfaces. The scientists feel a coach can use the raw materials is rapidly increasing. Still, it has been challenging to mass-produce ultra-fine fibers from
sensor to analyze people's postures and improve recycled polyester due to the need for high-level polymer control and spinning.
In 2017, smart fabrics in the medical and health improvement. An experienced athlete could also use
segment had a market size of $97 million, according it to record their posture so that beginners can learn Teijin Limited is a Japanese chemical, pharmaceutical, and information technology company. Its primary
to IFAI research. The MIT team has developed a from them. They even imagine that robots could be operations are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin &
range of prototypes, from socks and gloves to a full trained to know how to do different activities using plastic processing, polyester fibers, product converting, and IT products. The company is listed on the first
vest. The team's "tactile electronics" use a mix of data from the wearables in the long term. section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index.

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