McMaster University Researchers in Canada Announced Development of Self-Cleaning Surface
Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have announced the development of a self-cleaning surface that can resist bacteria contamination. Leyla Soleymani and Tohid Didar led a group of engineers that specialize in infectious disease research and electron microscopy. Together, they may have discovered a self-cleaning surface – a material that is a treated form of transparent wrap that has the capability to repel most types of bacteria in many setting. The researchers propose using the self-cleaning surface anywhere bacteria are found, such as door handles or railings. There is some evidence, in fact, that it could be used in hospitals as well as in food packaging.
The self-cleaning surface is textured with microscopic wrinkles, that is chemically treated, which prohibits foreign molecules or bacteria from adhering to the treated surface or food packaging.
Leyla Soleymani explains:
“We’re structurally tuning that plastic. This material gives us something that can be applied to all kinds of things.” The self-cleaning surface is “a barrier that is flexible, durable and inexpensive to reproduce.”
The team captured the self-cleaning surface with an electron microscope and the images confirm the effectiveness of the material, showing that no common food borne bacteria, such as e. coli (Escherichia coli) and staph (Staphylococcus aureus), were capable of permeating through the surface.
Because the treated coating can be applied to virtually any surface, it could be used anywhere there is a risk of bacterial pathogens spreading. The use of this revolutionary material promises to be beneficial in food packaging to reduce the contamination from handling raw food that can breed foodborne illness like listeria, salmonella, and E. coli.
