Agion has announced the launch of its Agion Active, which it says is the first textile treatment to combine antimicrobial protection with brand new industrial-strength odour elimination in a move that will take odour control into the mainstream for textile applications.

Agion’s silver-based antimicrobial technology, which the company says has been proven in over 15 million pairs of shoes, naturally fights bad smells by killing the bacteria that cause them. Agion Active goes one step further by adding a new technology based on rocks that pulls in environmental, ambient or absorbed odours like a vacuum and then eliminates them.

Agion Active can be used in any fabric where odour is an issue including sportswear, uniforms, tents, sleeping bags, pet beds, carpets and even casual wear, providing ‘stink relief’ to people in nearly every aspect of their lives.

“Agion Active brings 21st century odour-eliminating technology from the lab to the living room,” said Paul Ford, Chief Executive Officer of Agion Technologies. “Agion Active has widespread potential in any application where odour is an issue.”

Unlike some antimicrobials that are built into the fibres of fabric, Agion Active is incorporated during the finishing step of the manufacturing process. The company says that this gives manufacturers cost-savings and greater flexibility by allowing them to easily shift from one colour or style to another without creating large, costly inventories.

How it Works

Agion's customized antimicrobial solutions incorporate silver ions in a zeolite carrier. The silver ions exchange with other positive ions (often sodium) from the moisture in the environment, affecting a release of silver ‘on demand’. The patented multi-faceted zeolite crystal carrier provides a three dimensional release mechanism (Figure 1) that provides efficient release of silver ions independent of particle orientation in the substrate.

Figure 2 shows the ion exchange process. Zeolite crystals containing silver ions are randomly oriented and distributed through the surface of a fibre, polymer or coating. In conditions that support bacterial growth, positive ions, in ambient moisture, exchange with silver ions at reversible bonding sites on the zeolite. The exchanged silver ions are now available to control microbial growth.

Fighting microbes in three ways

Silver ions attack multiple targets in the microbe to prevent it from growing to a destructive population. This tri-modal action fights cell growth in three ways:

   1. Prevents respiration by inhibiting transport functions in the cell wall

   2. Inhibits cell division (reproduction)

   3. Disrupts cell metabolism

Depending on the microorganism, Agion’s antimicrobial technology has been shown to initially reduce microbial populate ions within minutes to hours while maintaining optimal performance for years.

Agion Active also represents a breakthrough in treating white materials. Agion Active’s patented approach keeps white fabrics white during manufacture with no concern for discoloration, a common drawback until now with other silver-based antimicrobials, says Agion. The company reports that the industry-first process took six years to perfect.