At TITK, a basic technology for the in-line antibacterial finishing of mono- and multifilaments made of synthetic polymers in the melt spinning process was developed.
The core of this development is the formulation of bactericidally effective metal-based complex compounds with special organoligands.
These thermally stable complexes can be added by means of typical additive processes either in pure substance or as masterbatch to the polymer matrices to be processed by thermoplastic processing technologies.
The antibacterial agents are suitable for the production of antibacterially functionalised multifilaments made of polyamide 6 and polyamide 6.6 as well as polyethylene terephthalate for applications in the textile sector. By means of variations with regard to the type of metal compound, the additive concentration and the filament design, the antibacterial spectrum of activity can be "customised". The thermoplastic filament spinning process is not affected by these polymer additives.
In addition to the use of silver ions as a bioactive agent, an existing basic technology for doping plastics with bioactive agents was further developed through formulations with zinc ions. By providing masterbatches with bio-based raw material components and different active agent concentrations, the technology is inexpensive and sustainable. In addition to special technical properties, the bioactivity can be specifically adjusted, and the biocompatibility has been confirmed several times by standardised procedures. The acquisition of intellectual property rights facilitates the commercial exploitation of the optimised product Smart Zinc and the process
Our offer:
TITK offers innovative companies and research institutions the possibility to obtain these special additives or compounds or to test them in a selected polymer matrix according to customer requirements in order to develop new textile products on this basis.