Assignment Touching On Anti Odor Clothes And How They Work (Essay Sample)

A thin cloth/lining that eliminates odors and replaces it with pleasant scents.
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Odor is a foul smell that’s unpleasant. Odor on our clothes not only lowers our self-esteem but also causes discomfort. Clothes’ foul smell comes from the body’s odor. Bacterial activity in sweat is the source of body’s odor. Sweat itself doesn’t smell however when it’s subjected to microbial processes a foul smell is generated. Sweat glands are made up of apocrine and eccrine glands. These glands secrete sweat. Sweat has water, salts, fatty acids, proteins and carbohydrates as its constituent components. Odor causing bacteria use some of this biomolecules as sources of nutrients. Sialomucin a glycoprotein is broken down by bacteria during cellular respiration, and body odor is released as a byproduct. Different bacteria metabolize sugar in sweat-producing different odors. Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis are the cause of foot order. S epidermidis results in underarm odor. Over the counter deodorant, however, inhibits S epidermidis activity (Garden, Health & Odor, 2017).
Bacteria flourish on polyesters and cotton. Polyester makes a happy habitat for Micrococcus bacteria while poly and cotton make a perfect home for Staphylococcus. 26 volunteers were asked to take a spinning class while wearing cotton and poly made shirts after which their shirts were incubated for a day, microbes were extracted and DNA fingerprinting taken. Scientists found out that Staphylococcus thrived in cotton, Micrococcus flourished on polyester while Corynebacterium was absent. Manufacturers have devised ways of making polyester fabric unfavorable to bacteria by coating the clothes with antimicrobial particles ("Stinky T-Shirt? Bacteria Love Polyester In A Special Way", 2017).
Nanotechnology is used by scientists to fight body odor causing bacteria. Silver nanoparticles antimicrobial property is utilized in this process. Clothing companies have coated their products with silver nanoparticles to destroy odor-causing bacteria. Silver nanoparticles destroy microbial colonies by disrupting replication. Bacterial metabolism and protein translation are inhibited thus stopping the exponential phase of the bacteria. When silver nanoparticles come across sweat from the human body, silver ions are released spontaneously. The particles target bacterial pathways that facilitate respiration, replication and cell wall synthesis. The bacterium takes in the free silver ions through the porins and eventually the ions penetrate the plasma membrane. Silver ions block transpeptidase activity disrupting the cross-linking process hence damaging the cell wall. The ions also target the active sites of enzymes that facilitate energy metabolism as well inhibit electrolyte transport. Sodium nanoparticles also disrupt DNA replication of bacteria by blocking topoisomerase enzymatic activity. These particles target different bacterial pathways concurrently creating a less hospitable environment to bacteria thus making fabrics odorless (Illumin.usc.edu, 2017).
Triclosan is another antimicrobial agent embedded in clothes. Triclosan blocks the formation of odor by disrupting odor bacteria activity. Triclosan inhibits bacterial fatty acid synthesis pathway. The condensing enzymes and the enoyl-ACP reductases active sites are targeted, triclosan exerts its inhibitory action by binding competitively to the active sites of enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis thus interrupting fatty acid chain elongation, spontaneous mutations however of the regulatory genes may result in resistance to Triclosan (Heath et al., 2017).The lipid bilayer of the odor bacteria is eventually damaged, and the bacteria die. Triclosan, therefore, protects antibacterial fabrics from odor by killing bacteria responsible for odor formation.
Triclocarban is another antimicrobial agent impregnated in fabrics to inhibit odor formation by bacteria. Triclocarban is bacteriostatic; it inhibits the proliferation of bacterial colonies. Research has shown that triclocarban and triclosan have a similar mechanism of action against bacteria. Triclocarban inhibits fatty acid chain elongation disrupting plasma membrane synthesis (Pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2017).
Antimicrobial clothing also has its demerits. The compounds embedded in these fabrics pose a threat to biodiversity and human health. They are toxic to aquatic life, marine, and wastewater treatment microbes. When they are washed out and released into the environment, they cause cellular and metabolic stress to flora and fauna and thus creating an imbalance in the ecosystem. Triclosan and trichlorocarban pose a health threat to man; their ineffectiveness might contribute to reduced susceptibility to therapeutic antimicrobials. Research has shown that trichlorocarban upregulates the expression of oncogenes leading to the development of cancer. The toxicological profile of trichlorocarban and triclosan signifies that these compounds...