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Coats threads and engineered yarns

powered by HeiQ Viroblock

In order to combat bacterial wound infections,
Empa researchers have developed cellulose Empa scientists
membranes equipped with antimicrobial
peptides that kill bacteria very efficiently.
If germs invade a wound, they can trigger develop wound
life-threatening blood poisoning (sepsis). The
problem of antibiotic resistance is becoming
more and more widespread as bacteria such
as staphylococci have become resistant to dressing that kills
what was once the miracle weapon of
medicine, they add. Empa researchers have
Coats, a leading industrial thread company, is partnering with HeiQ, a Swiss technology company, to therefore developed cellulose membranes, bacteria
incorporate HeiQ Viroblock technology into its engineered yarns. The agreement will also gives Coats exclusive with which these infections can be eliminated
global access to the technology for use in sewing threads. early on.

HeiQ Viroblock is among the first textile technologies in the world to be proven effective in laboratory testing The team led by Empa researcher Katharina
against SARS-CoV-2, the virus from the coronavirus family that causes COVID-19. It has been shown to be Maniura from the Biointerfaces lab in St.
99.99% effective in 30 minutes in tests conducted with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Gallen produced fine membranes from
Melbourne, Australia. cellulose using electrospinning technology. If
the cellulose membranes are treated with such
The Coats Innovation Hub – America in North Carolina, US, is adapting HeiQ Viroblock technology to create a a peptide solution, the fibre scaffold will
new range of threads and engineered yarns suitable for application across a wide range of end-use products. become saturated with peptides. In cell culture
Non-toxic and hypoallergenic, HeiQ Viroblock merges microsilver technology to attract virus particles which experiments, the researchers then showed
then combine with vesicle technology to break down the viral membrane within seconds. that the peptide-containing membranes are
well tolerated by human skin cells. However,
Coats prides itself on its innovation which has become a key focus following the development of its three the cellulose membranes were a death
Innovation Hubs in China, Turkey and the US. These centres provide the opportunity for technical experts from sentence for bacteria such as staphylococci.
Coats to work alongside industry partners and customers in real time on dedicated machinery to develop In bacterial cultures, over 99.99 percent of the
ground-breaking solutions for all the industries Coats supplies. germs were killed by the peptide-containing
membranes.
It was announced that Coats joined the Gerber Task Force as a coalition partner. Created by Gerber
Technology, the Task Force empowers manufacturers to switch to personal protective equipment (PPE) In future, the antimicrobial membranes will be
production and match supply and demand for critically needed products. equipped with additional functions.

September/October 2020 September/October 2020