We have all experienced the typical disinfectant liquid smell coming from hospitals or used in our homes to clean the floor or kitchen top which many of us don’t like in particular but is very essential in maintaining a germ free healthy life. Imagine how wonderful it would be, if we can lead a germ free life without using these disinfectants.
Recently, an Australian scientist by observing dragonfly came across a nano tech surface, which assassinated bacteria. The nano tech surface is made of black silicon (which was discovered by mistake in 1990 and is now seen as a upcoming semi conductor material for solar panels) and when viewed under a electron microscope was found to be covered with thicket of spears which physically butcher any bacteria that comes in contact with it. This germ killing surface is water repellent and the spears measure just 500 nano-meters in height (i.e. 500 billionths of a meter).
Elena further studied red bodied Australian dragonfly known as wandering percher (Latin name Diplacodes bipunctata) and found nanopillars similar to those found in black silicon, but measuring 240 nano-meters high. The dragon fly wings and black silicon were examined in lab and found to have similar germ killing ability too.
The study established that the surface effectively kills two class of bacteria known as germ negative and germ positive, along with spores in which the bacteria lies dormant under unfavorable conditions. In lab three kinds of soil germs were examined, P. aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and the extreme tough spore of Bacillus subtilis. In the first three hours, the surface killing rate recorded was 450,000 bacterial cells per square centimeter per minute.
The surface is smooth on human skin, the challenge is to reduce the cost involved in making these surface. However scientist are trying to find other solution for making synthetic germ killing surface so that mass production can be started and supplied to general public. And may be very soon you would be using one in your kitchen and remain tension free and germ free as the same time.
Source: Phys.org
