July 15, 2005 -- Talk about high-tech camouflage. Thanks to the work of Karin Melkonian, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, the clothes on soldiers' backs may someday protect them from such deadly forms of bacteria as anthrax.
"We are treating fabric with a series of chemicals," says Melkonian. "Then we expose the bacteria to the fabric and allow it to grow on a solid medium that the bacteria really like. What we've found is that the bacteria cannot grow on the treated fabric. They land there and die within a few minutes."
Melkonian, who came to C.W. Post in 2000, has been working with Robert Engel, Ph.D., of Queens College and Jaimelee Cohen, Ph.D., of Pace University since 2001. Their collaboration began when Dr. Engel read about the possibilities of attaching certain chemicals to fabric. He decided to pursue the idea, but needed a chemist to make the chemicals and a biologist to test them on various materials. So, he contacted Melkonian and Cohen, both of whom had worked with him in the past. Cohen, an organic chemist, applies the chemicals to the surfaces. Melkonian does most of the testing at Long Island University's Brookville campus, though she has deferred the testing of anthrax spores to the United States Army. The trio has patents pending in several countries.
The concept could have far-reaching applications. Melkonian says that the chemicals could be used to make wood resistant to termites and bacteria. That could make cutting boards safer, for example, or a house free of termites. And bacteria-resistant air filters in buildings and airplanes could help prevent the spread of germs. The scientists are already working with a company to manufacture antimicrobial cosmetic brushes.
"The hope here is to make life better," says Melkonian. "Antibiotics, for example, are becoming less useful because people are misusing them. These materials may provide a means to kill outright infectious bacteria before they enter the body, therefore lowering the inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics."
