Self-Decontaminating Textiles

Luna Innovations is addressing the need to develop novel fluid repellent textile treatments for military uniforms that will repel and actively decontaminate chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA). There have been recent significant advances in textile treatments that have demonstrated water, oil and chemical agent resistance that are superior to Quarpel repellent treatments currently used on protective uniforms. Likewise, CBWA detoxification has been widely studied on textiles. Despite effectiveness at breaking down these harmful agents, the practical usefulness of these decontaminants on fabrics is often limited due to low efficacy, poor laundering resistance and the deleterious effects that highly oxidizing materials have on the fabric properties. Luna proposes a wash-durable treatment that self-decontaminates CBWA on contact, yet maintains the key properties of the garment such as fluid repellency, flame resistance, high tear strength and comfort (e.g. lightweight, breathability, flexibility).