Problem: During use, clothes can be contaminated with micro-organisms that proliferate in the fabric. Antibacterial substances are used to limit or cancel the presence of microorganisms.
Data from the European Economic Community report that in hospitals one in ten patients is afflicted with “nosocomial” infections.
The result is a prolonged hospital stay of about 10 million days a year in Europe alone. The use of antimicrobial hospital-use tissues, such as linens and antibacterial bandages, have proven effective reduction of nosocomial infections, improving patient health and saving millions of Euros.
Similar problems also occur in domestic environments, offices, public places.

State of the Art: Currently, most of the antibacterial fabrics available on the market contain silver ions and / or “triclosan” (an aromatic chlorinated compound similar to DDT, see Figure) which are gradually released from the tissues and are dispersed in the environment and on the skin, decreasing in effectiveness and leading to environmental pollution.
Triclosan, similarly to other chlorinated phenols, can be accumulated in the tissues of living organisms and breast milk (and then be ingested by infants); its accumulation can cause liver and lung dysfunctionality, induce sterility, etc.