Market Opportunity: The Future Development Of Anti-Virus Textiles Is Worth Looking Forward To

With the adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, the post epidemic era has really arrived, and everyone has become the first person responsible for their own health. In such a situation, anti-bacterial and anti-virus products have attracted the attention of consumers. Especially recently, the news of the successful development of anti-virus fabric by Annell has become popular, which has attracted social attention. So is antivirus technology innovation or gimmick IQ tax? This is a more concerned issue inside and outside the industry. Today, we will talk about the current development of this technology by interviewing enterprises in the industry that are already developing anti-virus textiles.

　　 Anti virus textile technology is not on the rise

Antibacterial textiles and anti-virus textiles use two completely different technologies. Antibacterial textiles are a kind of textiles that can kill or inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria and fungi; Anti virus textiles are textiles that can block the invasion of viruses, inhibit the growth and reproduction of viruses, and inhibit the activity of viruses. Relatively speaking, anti-virus textiles are more complex and technically difficult. According to the statistics of Soochow Securities, at present, there are 31 listed companies in China that distribute anti-virus and anti-bacterial patents and products. Most of them only distribute anti-bacterial functional fabrics and obtain relevant patents. Only a few companies, such as Annell, Sima Clothing, Zhongwang Fabric, and Ruyi Group, have anti-virus related patents.

In fact, the anti-bacterial and anti-virus technology in the textile industry has been developed all the time, and many enterprises are in the layout, with various technical paths.

In 2020, after the outbreak of the new coronal epidemic, Shandong Nanshan Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. began to carry out the research and development of anti-virus fabrics, and made a major breakthrough in 2022. According to Guo Xiaoyun, the company's research and development director, the fabric has now achieved mass production, and has been applied in the fields of suits, single suits, pants and other products, and is being promoted in the market.

In the year when the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, in order to research and develop emergency protective textiles more quickly, the National Advanced Functional Fiber Innovation Center and Shenghong Holding Group jointly established the "Shenghong · Special Fund for Scientific Research on Fiber Materials and Products for Emergency Security and Public Safety", Focus on the research and development of key scientific research projects related to fiber materials and products for emergency security and public safety. After more than two years of research and development, with the support of the fund, the industry launched a number of anti-virus textiles.

These include the antiviral mask developed by Donghua University and Shengna Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. This technology loads the nanofibers in the mask and the outer non-woven fabric with antiviral drugs, the protection level reaches 99% of level 2, the antibacterial rate against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans reaches 99%, and the antiviral activity of H1N1 is 99.95%, The antiviral activity of H3N2 was 99.91%.

The project also includes a nanofiber material developed by Beijing University of Chemical Technology that can make viruses "lost". The material is made by "zero solvent" melt differential electrospinning technology. This high-voltage electrostatic force can evenly divide the polymer solution into multiple streams through electrostatic differentiation and "tug of war effect". Finally, fiber membranes with different morphologies and structures can be obtained, forming intricate microporous channels. When viruses pass through, they will be intercepted like walking in a "maze", Moreover, the mask's function of blocking virus will not be greatly weakened after alcohol disinfection or water washing, which can meet the requirements of repeated use.

Fujian Yongrong Jinjiang Co., Ltd., a leading enterprise in the nylon industry, also began to research and develop raw material nylon 6 fiber that can be used in the field of medical supplies at the beginning of 2020, and made a major breakthrough in the middle of the year, which to some extent alleviated the shortage of raw materials for medical supplies. Fu Chongxian, the deputy general manager in charge of research and development of the company, introduced that the development and application of this anti-virus nylon 6 fiber developed by the company has also been selected into the 2020 national advanced functional fiber innovation center Shenghong ? emergency security and public safety fiber materials and products research project. The developed FDY and DTY anti-virus nylon has realized industrial production and has been used in masks Anti virus functional fibers for protective materials and special clothing are applied in many fields.

　　 Each technical path has its own strengths

Relevant data show that the production technology of anti-bacterial and anti-virus textiles is mainly to combine anti-bacterial agents or anti-virus functional finishing agents to textiles by physical adsorption through post finishing methods (padding, heating, drying, etc.). The disadvantage is that anti-bacterial ingredients and textiles are mainly combined by physical adsorption, with weak adhesion, After use and washing, the effective anti-bacterial and anti-virus ingredients will be lost, leading to the unsustainable anti-bacterial and anti-virus effect of textiles. The lost anti-bacterial and anti-virus ingredients have potential harm to human body and the environment, and the applicable pathogenic bacteria and viruses are limited.

In order to solve this problem, the enterprises that layout the R&D and production of anti-virus textiles have developed a variety of processes. The anti-virus nylon 6 developed by Yongrong Jinjiang is realized by adding master batch to melt blending at the end of nylon fiber. Fu Chongxian introduced that the advantage of this technology is that the product function is to add specific composite nano materials at the raw material end, destroy the protein shell of the virus, make it lose the living conditions and die quickly, so that the yarn has anti-virus and antibacterial effects. The anti-virus activity rate of influenza A virus H3N2 reached 99.97% through ISO18184:2014 standard detection. Because these nanomaterials are firmly combined with fiber molecules, they are water-resistant, have long-term functions, and ensure safety to the wearer.

Shandong Nanshan Zhishang adopts liposome vesicle technology, which is equivalent to capsule slow release technology, and can release silver ions in a long term, with a long-term anti-virus effect.

Recently, the popular Shenzhen Annell Co., Ltd. uses the electron beam grafting technology. The anti-virus and anti-bacterial textile technology produced by this technology has the characteristics of broad-spectrum, high-efficiency, anti-virus, anti-bacterial, safety and long-term effectiveness. The principle is that the preparation molecules grafted on the fabric, which are similar to tree branches, are positively charged, while the envelope like viruses, bacteria and fungi are negatively charged. Under the mutual attraction of positive and negative charges, the preparation molecules will puncture the envelope of viruses, bacteria and fungi to achieve the purpose of killing. It is understood that this technology has recently passed the appraisal of the China Textile Industry Federation, and the appraisal committee unanimously believes that the overall level of the project has reached the international advanced level. According to the relevant person in charge of Annell, the fabric production line is under construction and is expected to be mass produced early next year.

　　 The future development is worth looking forward to

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, people's health awareness has become increasingly strong, making functional textiles such as anti-bacterial and anti-virus textiles in great demand. It can be predicted that after the epidemic recedes, people's health awareness will continue in depth, which will be a major opportunity for the textile industry to upgrade.

Ma Zhengsheng of Shanghai Jieyikang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. proposed that the market and consumers have always paid great attention to the safety of antibacterial and anti-virus textiles. At present, the testing and evaluation standards for anti-bacterial and anti-virus textiles at home and abroad are becoming more and more perfect, and the supervision and supervision of the anti-bacterial and anti-virus textile market by the relevant departments in China are also constantly standardized and strict. From the perspective of consumption trend, consumers still prefer non chemically synthesized anti-bacterial and anti-virus finishing agents such as natural sources and plant extracts. They hope that anti-bacterial and anti-virus textiles are green and harmless from the raw material end, which puts forward higher requirements for anti-bacterial and anti-virus finishing agents and textile practitioners.

Fu Chongxian, based on the production, research and marketing of anti-virus nylon 6 developed by the enterprise, proposed that nylon, as the second largest chemical fiber category, has the characteristics of good hygroscopicity, good abrasion resistance, skin affinity, softness, etc. The product has anti-virus effects, which can not only be used in the application field of conventional nylon, but also broaden the application field of nylon in medical protection products. Compared with the value of nylon itself, the anti-virus nylon 6 fiber is more suitable for use in daily textiles, and has certain limitations compared with some disposable fields. He suggested that nylon should be developed to combine other functions in the future, so as to improve the high added value and application range of anti-virus textiles. As for the difficulties faced by the R&D of anti-virus textiles, Fu Chongxian said that at present, the products developed by enterprises are mainly tested according to the international standard ISO 18184:2014. The corresponding type of virus used for testing is influenza virus, and there is no corresponding P3 laboratory to undertake the test effect of anti COVID-19 virus. Therefore, the detection standard of new coronavirus needs to be improved.

Guo Xiaoyun also pointed out that due to the essential differences between viruses and bacteria in structure and properties, viruses have no cellular structure and evolve faster, so anti-virus textiles are more complex and technically more difficult than anti-bacterial textiles. At present, there is no authoritative standard release in China, and there is no standard for enterprise product research and development. In the future, it needs to be promoted by the industry to make the product functionality reliable.

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