BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have developed a nanogel that can be applied to textiles for durable antibacterial effects.

Since bacterial infections seriously threaten human's health, the design of nanoscale antibacterial materials has become a hot research area.

Scientists from Shanghai-based Donghua University have developed a kind of environmentally friendly nanogel with long-lasting antibacterial effects, good biocompatibility and positive effects on preventing wound infection.

The nanogel has a regular spherical structure with a size of about 200 nanometers. The nanogel grafted on the surface of cotton fibers displayed good thermal stability, which is essential for the finishing of fabrics.

The cotton fabrics finished with nanogels can prevent the adhesion and the proliferation of bacteria. After 50 rounds of machine washing, the grafted cotton fabric still had an antibacterial efficiency of more than 86 percent against certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli.

The research provides a reference for the future design of functional clothing, antibacterial dressings and other biomedical materials, according to Qin Xiaohong, one of the researchers.

The research was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.