The antimicrobial science behind SWIFF is officially published after peer-review!

This paper on antimicrobial and anti-odor coatings attracted interest from over 200 news sources in 10+ languages.

Our paper is open access, which means it is free to read here: (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05553-9m)

But if you want an easier read, check out the official scientific press release put out by the University of Tokyo, and below that is a list of some of the links to other news articles on our science:

DESPITE THEIR ABILITY TO NEUTRALIZE PATHOGENS, POLYPHENOLS AND SILVER ARE CONSIDERED TO BE EXTREMELY SAFE. POLYPHENOLS ARE IN MANY KINDS OF FOODS CONSUMED DAILY, AND SILVER DOES NOT INTERACT WITH THE HUMAN BODY. SO AG/TA COATING COULD BE DONE BY ANYONE, NOT JUST IN TIGHTLY CONTROLLED INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS

For the first time, researchers have found a cost-effective and convenient way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to new or existing textiles. Their method uses polyphenols, commonly found in food items notorious for staining clothes such as wine and chocolate. A range of textile types can be treated by the researchers’ method, and items can be washed multiple times without losing the antimicrobial and therefore anti-odor property.

It may be winter for half the world right now, but before too long the warm weather will return, bringing with it beach trips, ice cream, insect bites, and of course, sweat. There are many kinds of products that can be worn or applied to the body which aim to reduce body odor, but these often come with a compromise such as expense, breathability, limited choice, or something else. Some of these make use of silver, which is well known for its antimicrobial properties, but can be difficult to apply to things like clothes in an easy and efficient way.

A team led by researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering has pioneered a way to apply an antimicrobial silver coating to textiles that is cost effective, simple and has some useful implications too. They essentially used a compound known as a polyphenol, tannic acid (TA) specifically, to bind silver (Ag) to fabrics. Polyphenols are found in chocolate and red wine amongst other things, and are responsible for their infamous ability to stain clothing and tablecloths. Fortunately, the researchers’ coating, called Ag/TA, is completely clear so it doesn’t discolor textiles, but best of all, it can survive being washed.

“As kids often do, my son stained his shirt with chocolate one day, and I couldn’t scrub it out,” said postdoctoral fellow Joseph Richardson. “Associate Professor Hirotaka Ejima and I have studied polyphenols for over a decade, but this chocolate incident got me thinking about using tannic acid to bind silver to fabrics. We think we’ve found two methods to apply our antimicrobial silver coating to textiles, suitable for different use cases.”

The first method might be useful for commercial clothing or fabric producers. Textiles can simply be bathed in a mixture of the silver compound and the polyphenol binder. Another method, perhaps more suited to small-scale settings, including the home, is to spray items of clothing, first with the silver compound and then with the polyphenol binder. An obvious advantage is that people can add the coating to existing items of clothing.

“But what’s most exciting is not the ease of application, but how effective the coating is,” said Richardson. “We wanted to study the effect of the antimicrobial coating not just on odor-causing bacteria, but also on fungi and pathogens like viruses. With so many variables to control, it was a challenge of time and complexity to test variations of compounds against variations of microorganisms. But through carefully optimizing our testing methods, we found that the coating neutralizes everything we tested it on. So Ag/TA could be useful in hospitals and other ideally sterile environments.”

The binding power of TA is so strong that coated textiles tested by the researchers like cotton, polyester and even silk, maintain antimicrobial and anti-odor properties for at least 10 washes.

“This isn’t just a hypothetical situation limited to the lab, I’ve tried it on my own shirts, socks, shoes, even my bathmat,” said Richardson. “We’d like to see what other useful compounds polyphenols might help bind to fabrics. Antimicrobial silver might just be the start.”

###
Journal article

Joseph J. Richardson, Wenting Liao, Jincai Li, Bohan Cheng, Chenyu Wang, Taku Maruyama, Blaise L. Tardy, Junling Guo, Lingyun Zhao, Wanping Aw, Hirotaka Ejima, “Rapid Assembly of Colorless Antimicrobial and Anti-Odor Coatings from Polyphenols and Silver”, Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05553-9, Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05553-9

List of other news articles on this scientific breakthrough:

1. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothing and Textiles (scitechdaily.com)
2. Anti-odor coating is no washout | The University of Tokyo (u-tokyo.ac.jp)
3. New way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to textiles - Tech Explorist
4. Anti-odor coating is no washout | The National Tribune
5. Anti-odor coating is no washout | EurekAlert!
6. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (fimdeboka.com)
7. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (webxharbor.com)
8. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (eksitwit.com)
9. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (dominiouruguay.com)
10. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (borakey.com)
11. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (sibaritv.com)
12. Anti-odor coating is no washout – BIOENGINEER.ORG - (semergenclm.com)
13. 研究人员发明用于服装和纺织品的新型抗菌、防臭涂料 - 科学探索 - cnBeta.COM (CHINESE)
14. Tannic acid utilized to "stain" odor-eliminating silver onto clothing (newatlas.com)
15. Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining to eliminate body odour  | Daily Mail Online
16. Anti-odor coating is no washout: Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating -- ScienceDaily
17. it does not fall even if i wash it! development of antimicrobial and antiviral coatings made of highly adhesive polyphenols (u-tokyo.ac.jp)
18. the university of tokyo develops polyphenol antibacterial coatings that are hard to fall off even after washing | nikkan kogyo shimbun electronic edition
19. 东京大学研究人员发明用于服装和纺织品的新型抗菌防臭涂料 - 字节点击 (byteclicks.com) (Chinese)
20. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating (phys.org)
21. Scientists Develop An Anti-microbial Lining To Eliminate Body Odour  - Todayuknews
22. New way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to textiles - Tech Explorist
23. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating -- Science & Technology -- Sott.net
24. Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining to eliminate body odour  | EXPRESS INFORMER
25. Researchers tinker with antimicrobial application methods (tevonews.com)
26. Anti-odor coating is no washout | Mirage News
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28. Natural Anti-Odor Research: Binding Silver with Chocolate Ingredients (orbitinside.com)
29. https://tabbed.info/science/details/10341/Silver-and-chemicals-found-in-wine-and-chocolate-used-to-create-antimicrobial-textile-coating
30. Anti-odor coating is no washout: Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating - TechiAI
31. https://articlesupdate.com/fresh-formula-to-apply-a-silver-essentially-based-antimicrobial-clear-coating-to-textiles/
32. Scientists develop an anti-bacterial lining to deodorize body - WSTPost
33. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating - My Droll
34. New way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to textiles (knowledia.com)
35. University of Tokyo: Anti-odor coating is no washout – India Education | Latest Education News | Global Educational News | Recent Educational News (indiaeducationdiary.in)
36. Klamotten: Beschichtung gegen Schweißgestank (pressetext.com) (GERMAN)
37. 洗濯しても落ちない！高付着性ポリフェノールからなる抗菌・抗ウイルス性コーティングを開発 (u-tokyo.ac.jp) (JAPANESE)
38. 東大、ポリフェノール抗菌コーティング開発　洗濯しても落ちにくい | 日刊工業新聞 電子版 (nikkan.co.jp) (JAPANESE)
39. Anti-odor coating is no washout - NFL (prelex.co.uk)
40. Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining to eliminate body odour (allhealthyinfo.com)
41. Tannic acid utilized to "stain" odor-eliminating silver onto clothing - Quick Telecast
42. Japan: Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining that eliminates body odor. The old thing about deodorant! This special thing will give freedom from the smell of sweat - Wings Daily News
43. Anti-odor coating is no washout - Opera News (dailyadvent.com)
44. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating | Flipboard
45. Tannic acid utilized to "stain" odor-eliminating silver onto clothing | Flipboard
46. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating - ScienceDaily - Verve times
47. New approach to applying silver-based antimicrobial clear coatings to textiles - Futechie.com
48. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothes and Textiles – OkUniQue
49. Tannic acid utilized to "stain" odor-eliminating silver onto clothing - Global Circulate
50. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothes and Textiles - The Times Of Truth
51. Anti-odor coating is no washout: Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating Funny Canny %
52. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating - Gamers Grade
53. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothing and Textiles – The Hamden Journal
54. Anti-odor Coating Is No Washout - SCIENMAG: Latest Science And Health News
55. THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO DEVELOPS A HIGHLY ADHESIVE ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIVIRAL COATING THAT DOES NOT FALL OFF EVEN AFTER WASHING| TECH+ (mynavi.jp) (JAPANESE)
56. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor - Study Finds
57. Silver And Chemical Compounds Present In Wine And Chocolate Used To Create Antimicrobial Textile Coating - Sahyadri Media
58. Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating - Samachar Central
59. Tannic acid utilized to “stain” odor-eliminating silver onto clothes – WeWEAT
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102. Rapid assembly of colorless antimicrobial and anti-odor coatings from polyphenols and silver - NewsBreak
103. Japanese researchers find latest antimicrobial clear coating - TechnicalTextile.net
104. Research Study Finds New Way to Apply Anti-Odor Coating to Textiles – Sourcing Journal
105. Silver Plus Chemicals Create Antimicrobial Textile Coating | Wearable Technology Insights
106. Antimicrobial silver coating created for textiles (labonline.com.au)
107. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WRBL
108. Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining to eliminate body odour - Vigour Times
109. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothing and Textiles (ehtrend.com.br)
110. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor (wearecentralpa.com)
111. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor news - The Black Chronicle Body, Chemicals, Chocolate, coating, Create, Destroys, Odor, okc, okc news, oklahoma headline, oklahoma news, Scientists, Wine
112. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothing and Textiles – Satrn News
113. Chemicals in wine, chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor (wspa.com)
114. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KFOR.com Oklahoma City
115. Wine and chocolate can destroy body odor — but not by consuming them | FOX8 WGHP (myfox8.com)
116. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | FOX 2 (fox2now.com)
117. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KXAN Austin
118. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com
119. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WBTW
120. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor (fox40.com)
121. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor - planetcirculate
122. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KLAS (8newsnow.com)
123. New Antimicrobial, Anti-Odor Coating for Clothing and Textiles - News at Ken
124. Scientists develop an anti-microbial lining to eliminate body odor – News of America
125. Anti-odor coating is no washout Silver and chemicals found in wine and chocolate used to create antimicrobial textile coating — IVAO
126. How Chocolate Stain Helped Scientists Create Antiperspirant ‘Cocktail’ (arabnews24.ca)
127. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW) (tristatehomepage.com)
128. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KRQE News 13
129. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather
130. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WBOY.com
131. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WBTW
132. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor (wjtv.com)
133. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WLNS 6 News
134. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WWTI - InformNNY.com
135. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | KGET 17
136. Sweet-smelling chemicals in wine and chocolate :: Now Smell This - Special Skins
137. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | WANE 15
138. Wine and chocolate help create coating that destroys body odor (klfy.com)
139. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | CBS 42
140. Chemicals in wine, chocolate help destroy body odor (cbs4indy.com)
141. Sweet-smelling chemicals in wine and chocolate :: Now Smell This (nstperfume.com)
142. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor – Queen City News (fox46.com)
143. Chemicals in wine, chocolate help create coating that destroys body odor - Yours Headline
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145. Chemicals in wine, chocolate help create coating that destroys body odor (newsnationnow.com)
146. Chemicals in wine and chocolate help scientists create coating that destroys body odor | RochesterFirst
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