{"id":10354,"date":"2020-03-30T16:06:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T20:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=10354"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T01:59:12","slug":"antimicrobial-tissue-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/2020\/03\/antimicrobial-tissue-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Antimicrobial Tissue Paper Could Help Prevent Infectious Disease Transmission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 17 million people each year. And while modern advances like antibiotics and vaccines have conquered many diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic shows just how vulnerable we remain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At North Carolina State University, researchers in the College of Natural Resources have developed a new antimicrobial tissue paper that could someday help prevent the spread of COVID-19, influenza and many other infectious diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis tissue paper has the potential to be one of the most innovative products for the hygiene industry,\u201d said Lokendra Pal<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Forest Biomaterials. \u201cIt can prevent infectious diseases and provide a sustainable and low-cost personal hygiene product to those who normally may not have access.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking a sustainable and affordable alternative to the petroleum-based plastics found in many antimicrobial products, Pal and other researchers applied a composite coating of chitosan \u2014 a sugar that is obtained from the outer skeleton of shellfish \u2014 and cellulose nanocrystals \u2014 unique nanomaterials derived from cellulose, a substance found in the walls of plant cells \u2014 to sheets of recycled tissue paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal said the coating acts as an antimicrobial and strength agent. Antimicrobials are natural or synthetic substances used to kill or slow the growth of microorganisms \u2014 bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Today, these substances can be found in medicines, pesticides and even hygiene products like soaps and hand lotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By testing E. Coli cultures and residual bacteria samples from participants who had wiped their hands following a visit to the restroom, the researchers hypothesized that the rigid, narrow cellulose nanocrystals cause significant cell membrane damage when encountering bacteria. This allows the chitosan to enter the cell and cause more damage, inhibiting the growth of E.coli by up to 99%.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal and his fellow researchers not only want to help others close to home by creating such a product, but they envision distributing the tissue paper worldwide by partnering with nonprofits, humanitarian groups and local governments in developing countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that rural populations in developing countries often lack access to basic hygiene products. In fact, about 1.6 million deaths per year are attributed to unsafe water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene, including limited access to soap.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many antimicrobial products are expensive to produce, according to Pal. But the composite coating used in his team\u2019s tissue paper provides a significant increase in strength and absorbency, allowing for fewer paper fibers. This could offset the overall cost of the addition of antimicrobial agents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal said the tissue paper also offers a more sustainable option for buyers. Unlike other hygiene products that contain petroleum-based plastics and litter the environment, the antimicrobial tissue paper is biodegradable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future studies will focus on the fundamental understanding of how various pathogens such as coronaviruses are impacted by the composite coating. Pal and researchers believe that by including detergent in their tissue paper, it could very well remove the viral particles that attach themselves to surfaces \u2014 whether it\u2019s your hands or countertops.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 17 million people each year. And while modern advances like antibiotics and vaccines have conquered many diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic shows just how vulnerable we remain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At North Carolina State University, researchers in the College of Natural Resources have developed a new antimicrobial tissue paper that could someday help prevent the spread of COVID-19, influenza and many other infectious diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis tissue paper has the potential to be one of the most innovative products for the hygiene industry,\u201d said Lokendra Pal<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Forest Biomaterials. \u201cIt can prevent infectious diseases and provide a sustainable and low-cost personal hygiene product to those who normally may not have access.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking a sustainable and affordable alternative to the petroleum-based plastics found in many antimicrobial products, Pal and other researchers applied a composite coating of chitosan \u2014 a sugar that is obtained from the outer skeleton of shellfish \u2014 and cellulose nanocrystals \u2014 unique nanomaterials derived from cellulose, a substance found in the walls of plant cells \u2014 to sheets of recycled tissue paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal said the coating acts as an antimicrobial and strength agent. Antimicrobials are natural or synthetic substances used to kill or slow the growth of microorganisms \u2014 bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Today, these substances can be found in medicines, pesticides and even hygiene products like soaps and hand lotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By testing E. Coli cultures and residual bacteria samples from participants who had wiped their hands following a visit to the restroom, the researchers hypothesized that the rigid, narrow cellulose nanocrystals cause significant cell membrane damage when encountering bacteria. This allows the chitosan to enter the cell and cause more damage, inhibiting the growth of E.coli by up to 99%.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal and his fellow researchers not only want to help others close to home by creating such a product, but they envision distributing the tissue paper worldwide by partnering with nonprofits, humanitarian groups and local governments in developing countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that rural populations in developing countries often lack access to basic hygiene products. In fact, about 1.6 million deaths per year are attributed to unsafe water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene, including limited access to soap.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many antimicrobial products are expensive to produce, according to Pal. But the composite coating used in his team\u2019s tissue paper provides a significant increase in strength and absorbency, allowing for fewer paper fibers. This could offset the overall cost of the addition of antimicrobial agents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pal said the tissue paper also offers a more sustainable option for buyers. Unlike other hygiene products that contain petroleum-based plastics and litter the environment, the antimicrobial tissue paper is biodegradable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future studies will focus on the fundamental understanding of how various pathogens such as coronaviruses are impacted by the composite coating. Pal and researchers believe that by including detergent in their tissue paper, it could very well remove the viral particles that attach themselves to surfaces \u2014 whether it\u2019s your hands or countertops.\u00a0<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Carolina State University researchers developed a bio-based, antimicrobial tissue paper that could help stop the spread of infectious diseases such as the flu and COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":19302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"displayCategoryID\":114,\"caption\":\"This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the United States. Photo by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) via Flickr.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[114,1,102,3],"tags":[269,39,254,25,78],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-10354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fb-research","category-hidden-news","category-hidden-newswire","category-research-innovation","tag-fb-research","tag-forest-biomaterials","tag-paper-packaging-and-tissue","tag-sustainability","tag-sustainable-materials-and-technology"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":114,"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research","slug":"fb-research","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":114,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":3,"count":20,"filter":"raw"},"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10354"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42942,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10354\/revisions\/42942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10354"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=10354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}