By James Urquhart and ChemistryWorld, Source: Scientific American

Fabrics containing engineered nanosilver – used to kill odor causing bacteria in socks and sports clothing – leak fewer silver nanoparticles into the environment when washed than textiles with conventional silver coatings. The Swiss researchers say that their findings indicate that regulatory assessments of nanosilver have been overly stringent and should be brought in line with traditional silver coatings.

As nanosilver – the most widely used engineered nanoparticle – is incorporated into increasing numbers of products for its antimicrobial properties, the potential risks have become a hot topic, particularly with regard to silver nanoparticles entering the environment. Although the danger to human health is considered to be relatively low, studies have shown that silver nanoparticles can be toxic to many aquatic organisms and bioaccumulate in the food chain.

But it seems nanosilver textiles aren’t necessarily the culprit behind the rise in environmental silver nanoparticles. Bernd Nowack and colleagues at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology have shown that nanosilver fabrics actually leak far fewer nanoparticles when washed than previously thought. Moreover, they found that textiles impregnated with silver release equal or greater numbers of nanoparticles when washed.

‘There is a lot discussion on nano and textiles but, surprisingly, very little actual data,’ says Nowack. ‘Our work suggests that regulations should not single out nano-textiles as “bad” but rather focus on all antimicrobial textiles.’

Read more at: Scientific American