Nanotechnology in cotton fabric

Fashion designers and fiber scientists at Cornell have taken "functional clothing" to a whole new level. Featured at the April 21 Cornell Design League fashion show, contain cotton fabrics coated with nanoparticles that give them functional qualities, designed by Olivia Ong '07 in the College of Human Ecology's Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, the garments were infused with their unusual qualities by fiber science .They have designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and never needs washing, and another that destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution.
Apparel design assistant professor Van Dyke Lewis launched the collaboration by introducing Ong to Hinestroza several months ago.The dress contain nanoparticles with antibacterial and air-purifying qualities.
Hinestroza said that "We think this is one of the first times that nanotechnology has entered the fashion world." But the garment price is very high about $10,000 for one square yard of nano-treated cotton. Ong's dress closer inspection -- shows an army of electrostatically charged nanoparticles creating a protective shield around the cotton fibers in the top part of the dress, and the sleeves, hood and pockets of the jacket.
"It's something really moving toward the future, and really advanced," said Ong. Fabrics were created by dipping them in solutions containing nanoparticles synthesized in Hinestroza's lab. The resultant colors are not the product of dyes, but rather, reflections of manipulation of particle size or arrangement.

It is created by positively charged cotton fibers using ammonium- and epoxy-based reactions, inducing positive ionization. The silver particles, about 10-20 nanometers across (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) were synthesized in citric acid, which prevented nanoparticle agglomeration.
Courtesy: Bharat textile 18.2.2008