Earlier this year, Chemosvit Fibrochem expected the approval of a project focused on materials, technology and protection during pandemics. The investment of approximately EUR 1.4 million will be used for the construction of a centre for the development of textile intelligence and antimicrobial technologies, which should be the first of its kind in Slovakia.
The centre will be established in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University of Košice. It will develop prototypes of protective clothing and medical textiles using antivirally and antimicrobially modified polypropylene yarns. During the development, the company will build on previous innovation activities in the production and application of textiles and clothing with antibacterial function and textiles already developed.
It will also focus on the development of a new antimicrobial air treatment device that will eliminate viruses and bacteria coming into indoor residential and non-residential spaces in the intake air.
The centre will also examine and verify new materials to create the so-called “clean room” that will meet the requirements of the international ISO 14644 standard. It will use materials ensuring maximum sterility that will have a positive impact on the recovery of patients.
The impulse for this project was the current pandemic situation and the effort to effectively protect employees in the healthcare sector who are most at risk of COVID-19 infection. The motivation was also the need to build domestic capacity for the development of PPE and other means of protection against coronavirus infection.
By creating a clean room, using newly developed textiles and equipment for recuperation units, Chemosvit Fibrochem strives to solve, in addition to protection against the current pandemic, also the common problems we encounter in the healthcare sector. It is, for example, cross-contamination or the transmission of nosocomial infections.
In the first phase, the company will focus on social care homes, where the conditions are suitable for the spread of viral diseases, as the most vulnerable citizens meet indoors. As a next step, it will focus on hospitals and clinics. The final phase will include application in residential and non-residential spaces with a high rate of gathering people.
The whole project was created with conviction and an awareness of the functionality of antiviral and antimicrobial textiles and antimicrobial devices, which have the potential for global use.
