Duration: 10/01/2006 to 09/30/2012

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Homeland security is becoming a challenging task and the three out of six key areas of focus for The National Strategy for Homeland Security are: defending against catastrophic threats (biodefense); protecting critical infrastructure, especially those that are vital to public health and safety (preventing loss of lives and loss due to property damage, and the safety of the fire-fighters and the first responders, involved in rescue efforts); and domestic counter-terrorism. Innovations in textile materials and technologies can address the important issues that face the US, in terms of protecting public and healthcare personnel from the biological hazards, and also protecting people and property from fire hazards and providing better uniforms to the fire-fighters and first responders so they can perform their duties efficiently. These issues are also part of the five goals listed by the Southern Region Priority Areas for Multistate Research Activities as included in the SAAESD Programmatic Plan (http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/saaesd/progplan.htm). The objectives addressed in this new proposal fall under Goal 1F (bio-based products); Goal 1H (processing agricultural byproducts); and 4G (environmental policy and regulations). These issues also parallel with the seven challenges of the Science Roadmap for Agriculture prepared by the National association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP) which charts the course for the next ten to twenty years of agricultural science that would serve the needs of the stakeholders (http://www.nasulgc.org/publications/Agriculture/ESCOP20001_Science_Roadmap2.pdf). The achievements from S-272 from 1995 to 2001 and S-1002 from 2001 to present of the scientists involved in this regional project are listed in Appendix I of the main proposal.

This new project proposal focuses on three major areas, firstly, designing textiles and novel plant based antimicrobials and anti-fungals for protection against biological hazards; second, develop newer bio-based products uniquely made in the USA primarily for fire safety; and third, the developing of new bio-based plant-derived polyesters (stable PLA and PHA fibers) for textiles. This is also, in line with CSREES/NRICGP initiatives that support the fulfillment of Executive Order 13134 that is developing and promoting bio-based products and bio-energy, which requires that the United States use of bio-based products to triple by the year 2010.

This regional research proposal requires the tremendous cooperative and timely efforts among the participating states because each has unique facilities and faculty expertise. The objectives and sub-objectives can only be accomplished through close cooperative research, and nine states have pledged their support and participation. The broad spectrum of scientific and technical expertise offered by this team is of the highest caliber and it has proven to be very successful in the past projects. No single university experiment station alone has the full resources required to accomplish all the objectives listed. Funding required to accomplish such broad and comprehensive research objectives is substantial. Therefore, RRF funding is required and necessary.

Several of the scientists in this project are the pioneers in their respective fields (TN scientist is an expert in innovative medical protective fabrics, WI scientist is well known in the plasma science, KS scientist first published the plasma and antimicrobial treatment for surgical gowns (Dec. 2004); GA scientist is an expert in bacteria, viral, blood barrier testing; scientist from TX is an expert in product development with needle-punching technology; scientists from LA and NE are well-known polymer chemists and are well recognized for their innovative product development research; and the scientist from AR is well known for her extensive research in setting up test methodologies for soil biodegradation; and there is definitely a need to work on the objectives in this proposal. Current and previous work that is relevant to the new project is presented in the following sections.

Related, Current and Previous Work

A literature review using the CRIS database (Feb 26, 2005) reveals that the project proposed herein is unique, though there are some remote similarities with a few of the projects identified which will be elaborated. One of the projects identified is CRIS 0177680 (NC 170, from 2002 - 2007) that is related to incorporating antimicrobial moieties on Nomex fabric to provide the firefighters protection from microbes, which is very different from the proposed project. There was another project identified CRIS 0197526 (USDA-INHOUSE, from 2002 to 2007) which deals with modifying agricultural fibers for composites. There were two other projects, CRIS 0197052 and 0197054, both were related to developing fire safety data and methodologies connected to vegetation close to buildings and exterior building materials, both these projects had a different focus related to agricultural fibers and wood modifications for composites used in buildings, and these have been terminated since 2002. Another project CRIS 0405917 (USDA-INHOUSE from 2001 to 2003) was a project using a flame retarded cotton for automobile parts, which was terminated in 2003 and thehe author is a collaborator with many projects with KSU. One last project (CRIS 0196574) that is closely related to the proposed objective 1c is current and is funded by NRICGP/USDA to use plasma treatment to develop antimicrobial surfaces, but it deals with materials for food packaging.

Textiles and Novel Plasma treatments and Plant Based Antimicrobials and Anitfungals for Protection Against Biological Hazards
Melt blown (MB) webs composed of ultra-fine fibers are much better barriers due to their more random orientation of fibers than conventional textiles (Wadsworth and Allen, 1998 & Wadsworth et al. 2000) but are still not as effective as micro-porous (MP) and monolithic (ML) breathable films in liquid barrier protection. Commercially available MP films include Celgard® 2400 polypropylene (PP) film; EXXAIRE® polyethylene film produced by Tredegar; Tetratex, a MP poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene (PTFE) produced by TetraTek Corporation and Gore-Tex ® produced by W.L. Gore & Associates; Aptra Classic" MP PP produced by RKW US, Inc., and other types of MP films. Breathable ML films can absorb moisture away from a person's body resulting in evaporative cooling. Some commercial ML films use thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) resins such as Estane® and Permax® breathable coatings produced by Noveon Inc.; COPAs like PEBAX®; and COPE resins like Hytrel®. Combining various layers with MP or ML films and the comfort of cotton layers with an antimicrobial treatment (barrier to bacteria and viruses) would enhance protection against biological hazards. Preliminary work (Wadsworth and Tsai, 2005) has been performed at the University of Tennessee using fluoro-chemical (FC) repellent finishes, and antimicrobial (AM) treatments to either repel or deactivate air- and liquid-borne microbes such as Hepatitis B, Avian Flu (Bird Flu), AIDS, and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. Newly created nonwoven substrates will be tested at The University of Georgia.

Another technique is to introduce antimicrobial agents by the use of plasma treatment. The cold-plasma state can be used to create new surface functionalities, morphologies and chemistries that will result in a different interaction of discharge-exposed surfaces with bio-macromolecules and cells in comparison to the non-modified materials (Denes et al, 2001 and 2004). Examples of durable antimicrobial compounds that have been chemically grafted to cotton, poly-olefins, nylons and other fibers are described in the literature by Sun and Xu (1998 and 1999), and by Sun, Xu et al. (2000). Also Lin, Qui, et al., (2002 and 2003) demonstrated that glass slides when reacted with poly-ethylenimines (PEIs) were highly bactericidal toward both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria, which contacted these modified materials through either air or water-borne media. In another study, Aymonier, et al. (2002) showed that it was not necessary to covalently bond poly-cations to the surface of a substrate to make it antimicrobial. Tiller et al. (2001) hypothesized that the antibacterial properties are effective, even in the dry state if the immobilized polycation chains are sufficiently long and flexible enough to penetrate cell walls. Plasma treatment with fluorocarbon gas has been shown to be effective against Staphylococcus aureas and also is a good repellent to water and blood (Virk and Ramaswamy, 2004). Therefore, research in this area performed at University of Wisconsin will attempt to use plasma treatment to graft antimicrobial moieties on cotton and other fabrics to produce durable surfaces that can combat biological hazards both in air and water.

Bio-based antifungals and antimicrobials may provide advantages over the synthetic compounds, as most synthetics are environmentally harmful. Antifungal and antimicrobial agents will be derived from numerous plant sources such as osage orange, turmeric, ginger and promeganate. For example, osage orange has been used in construction for its remarkable oxidative and bacterial decay resistance of the wood. The presence of substances that are toxic to fungi was confirmed by the discovery of an antifungal agent 2, 32, 4, 52 -tetra-hydroxy-stilbene in wood (Barnes & Gerber, 1955). There are numerous studies that have documented the antifungal and antimicrobial effects of the above-mentioned natural products. Biobased agents obtained from plants will be compared against each other as well as with currently available synthetic compounds and other processes, such as plasma treatment. Therefore, the extraction, characterization and application of plant based antimicrobials will be conducted at Colorado State University and the antimicrobial testing will be performed at The University of Georgia.

International Position of the U.S. Fire Problem

The United States fire problem has regressed over the past 30 years. According to year 2002 statistics of United States Fire Administrations' Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA,1998 and 2002), U.S. has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world at 12 deaths per million population. The fire problem is one of the issues which is of great national importance. Therefore, evaluating existing fire-fighters uniforms and making them better is essential to protect the first-responders (University of Arkansas, Kansas State University and Southern Louisiana University will be co-operating). Many alterations in the fibers used to create the external (which is usually a FR material such as aramids (Nomex, Kevlar, Conex, Fenilon, Arenka, and Kermel), Novoloid, Poly-benz-imidazole, Sulfar, Poly-butylene terephthallate, Teflon, Celiuox, Basofill, and Thermablock. However, many of the deficiencies in the design of the current structural fire fighting protective garments have not been addressed. These deficiencies in design involve turnout gear, that is bulky, stiff, and not integrated well with the gloves, boots, helmet, and breathing apparatus. Also, the firefighters may find themselves dealing not only with standard toxic chemicals and materials, but also with biological agents that have been placed at an incident scene with the intent to do other types of harm to a potentially large population. This very new and different situation requires a complete re-evaluation of the protective ensemble for firefighters so as to provide the maximum amount of protection to the wearer without sacrificing the mobility and dexterity attributes needed for the firefighter to carry out his or her job at the incident scene. An additional option with non-woven fabrics is the ability to create several discrete layers of fabric, each with a very specific makeup and purpose, and then bond these layers together to create the fabric from which the garment itself would be made. Two of the more obvious deficiencies are the boot/glove/hood interface with the turnout gear and the front closures. No matter whether the fabric is woven or non-woven, or some combination of the two, is selected to produce the garment itself, the hood, boots, and gloves must be integrated with the garment in some fashion. Additionally, the front closure of the garment must produce a better seal from the incident environment. Accomplishing these goals will produce a protective ensemble that is much less likely to allow water, smoke, and other aerosolized material in through the collar, sleeves, trouser legs, and front closures.

Out of the 1,687,500 fires in the United States, 49.7% were outside fires, 30.8% were structure fires, and 19.5% were vehicle fires. There are nine NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System) categories for material ignited and paper/cardboard and cotton subcategories account for half of the material ignited. Fires following a collision are the leading cause of vehicle deaths (FEMA, 2002). Upholstered seats are the third leading materials ignited (8%). The major contributing factor preventing escape in vehicle fire deaths was rapid-fire progression (51%), therefore, all textiles used must slow down the fire progression to save lives, whether it is in automobiles or in buildings or homes. Texas Tech and KSU have started preliminary work in this area. In anticipation of the standard for the state of California (TB 604) being passed, a comparative study of various bedding materials like cotton, polyester and FR fibers will yield necessary information on the performance of these materials over this standard.

New Biobased Textile Products/Processes for a Replacement of Petrol Intensive Materials

Homeland security can also mean being independent of petroleum sources for fibers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are a family of biodegradable thermoplastic polyester polymers (see figure to the left), originally produced naturally by a limited number of bacteria (gram-positive and gram-negative) as part of their energy storage mechanisms (Lee, 1998 and Madison and Huisman, 1999). PLA is a relatively a new textile fiber, made from corn, and although is being widely produced, there continues to be development work related to this (Lunt & Shafer, 2000 and Lowe & Negulescu,2000). Investigators at University of Nebraska in Lincoln, NE have been researching PLA wet processing properties for more than six years. The results from the UN's previous investigation (Yang and Huda, 2003a and 2003b) indicated that PLA has to be stabilized to withstand textile processing, which will impact the market demand of this new fiber. Textile application of other PHA polymers (e.g., PHB and copolymers) is much less studied and understood. Therefore, the overall objective (for LSU, UT and UNL) is to analyze the rheological properties (Collier et al, 2002) and the characteristics of PHA fibers, particularly during and after processing for textile applications, such as dyeing and to tailor excellent fiber properties into the nonwoven composite structure (natural fiber and PHA) that will help promote the fabrication of high performance and cost-effective automotive interior trim parts. The development of this new fiber not only would provide the first biodegradable synthetic fiber from renewable resources with excellent properties, but also add value to a major agricultural product in our country.

Objectives

1. To create barrier fabrics, with novel finishes and processes for protection against biological threats
   
2. To create newer fiber products and designs for textile and apparel products to address the fire safety issues
   
3. To develop new bio-based textile products/processes to replace petrol-based materials
   

Methods

Objective 1: To create barrier fabrics, with novel finishes and processes for protection against biological threats a. Create unique and innovative non-woven structures with unique films and antimicrobial treatments and evaluate their barrier efficiency b. Extract, characterize and evaluate natural based antifungal and antimicrobials from numerous plant sources for textile finish c. Synthesize antimicrobial layers by plasma environment and evaluate antimicrobial and barrier properties Objective 2: To create newer fiber products and designs for textile and apparel products to address the fire safety issues a. Develop woolen non-woven for automobiles using highly productive non-woven technologies b. Create cost effective fire-barriers for commercial furniture and institutional bedding and test their performance c. Analyses and Design of Fire-fighters uniform and investigate possible use of multi-functional and multi-layered non-woven fabrics Objective 3: To develop new bio-based textile products/processes to replace petrol-based materials a. Establish the PLA polymer type and morphology of the fiber responsible for low resistance to hydrolysis in processing and use b. Develop and optimize the appropriate PLA process and use conditions. c. Develop rheological characteristics for spinning PHA fibers d. Develop new bio-based non-woven materials made of cellulosic fibers and plant derived polyesters (PLA and PHA fibers) Methods to address the Objective 1a: The new protective fabric will contain outer and inner layers, which will be a breathable barrier against harmful chemical liquids vapors and microbes. To determine the relative effectiveness of each variable of the breathable barrier fabrics that may contribute to protection from viral and bacterial penetration, various combinations will be evaluated. After being finished on the onemeter two-station spray-dry-cure line, the inner sides of the bonded garment fabrics will be treated with the combination of latex and AM finish by pad application. Some of the tri-laminates containing MP films will be coated on the outer SB side with 2.0 oz/yd2 (68 g/m2) Noveon Permax BB2415 HMVT Monolithic (ML) breathable coating in a two step coating and oven drying step. All physical and functional tests will be performed according to AATCC and or INDA test methods. (TN and GA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 1a). Methods to address the objective 1b: Antifungal and antimicrobial compounds will be extracted with dichloromethane, diethyl ether, and methanol. Compounds will be identified by reverse-phase liquid chromatography. The extracted active fractions of the compounds will be adhered onto fabrics with various finishing and printing technologies. Qualitative (AATCC Test Method 147-1998) and quantitative evaluation (AATCC Test Method 100-199) of antimicrobial properties will be performed. Durability of compounds to laundering and light will also be studied. (CSU, KSU and GA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 1b). Methods to address the Objective 1c: The plasma functionalization will be done in a capacitively coupled parallel plate RF-reactor. This configuration of a plasma reactor is good for simultaneous and uniform surface modification of low dimension flat surfaces. To synthesize quaternary ammonium groups on the surfaces, the inert substrates will be plasma functionalized to deposit nitrogen containing groups (ethylene diamine, acrylonitrile and acetonitrile). The substrates after the plasma-functionalization will be characterized using Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The type of species generated in the plasma environment will be investigated using Residual Gas Analysis (RGA). Modified substrate surfaces will be evaluated for their ability to inactivate pathogens (including aerosolized microbes) and inhibit biofilm formation using standard AATCC test methods. (WI, KS, TN and UGA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 1c). Methods to address Objectives 2a and b: Needle punched woolen non-woven base substrates for internal building and automotive parts and cotton/inherently flame resistant fiber blends for upholstered furniture and bedding fire barriers will be made; needled web for headliner and heavy weight composites will be thermally bonded and properties evaluated. All the flammability testing for the various end-products (automotive textiles, building composites, furniture and bedding fire-barriers). Rate of burning for automotive samples will be determined according guidelines given in Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302. Furniture and bedding fire-barriers will be done in accordance with California Technical Bulletin 604. (TX, WI, KS, TN and USDA/SRRC will be cooperating to accomplish objective 2a and b). Methods to address objective 2c: Human factors issues will include a task analysis which evaluates and documents the various physical, physiological, and psychological elements of fire fighting activities. Proper and comfortable ensemble (garment) fit for the fire-fighter and first responder's uniforms will be addressed through anthropometric databases and 3-D whole-body analysis tools (CEASAR< Cyberware 3-D, etc.). The barrier fabrics made with unique finishes (plasma or bio-based) will be used to design newer uniform for first responders who might be involved in a biological hazard situation, through the data collected from the anthropometric databases and 3-D body scans. General wear issues and evaluation of the suitability of the newer non-woven laminates materials for use in a protective garment will be done. Ease of garment assembly or construction will need to be determined. ASTM, AATCC and INDA textile testing methods will be followed. Prototype garments are to be designed, constructed and evaluated according to previously determined human factor outcomes. Surveys and questionnaires will be developed for data collection. Newer, improved garments will be constructed and evaluated. (AR, KS, and SLA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 2c). Methods to address objective 3a: The molecular modeling computer software (Materials Studio, available from Accelrys), will be used to model various amorphous structures of poly-lactide. After the completion of the homo-polymer simulation, co-polymers with different L- and D-lactide ratios in each of the polymers will be investigated to understand the effect of different isomer ratios in a single molecule on the resistance of the fiber to hydrolysis. (NE, TN and LA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 3a). Methods to address objective 3b: Based on the modeling results from Objective 3a, appropriate PLA molecular structures with good resistance to hydrolysis will be recommended to the polymer producer, Cargill-Dow Polymers, and the optimum process conditions will be developed with the consideration of current wet processing conditions in preparation, dyeing and finishing. (NE, TN and LA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 3b). Methods to address objective 3c: PHA polymers (as exemplified by PLA products) can easily degrade during processing by thermal de-polymerization. A complex of analyses will accompany the techniques for determination of rheological parameters. Melting temperatures will be determined from differential scanning calorimetric data. Thermo-gravimetry will be used to determine thermal stability of polymers and natural fibers, while by gel permeation chromatography the degradation of PHA long chains to shorter segments will be monitored. (NE, TN and LA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 3c). Methods to address objective 3d: Carding, air-laid, and wet-laid non-woven technologies will be used for making non-woven webs. The non-woven webs will be thermally bonded to form fiber composites using bio-based polymers, such as PLA and/or PHA. Processing of long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) composites with glass and cellulose fiber roving will also be considered. Investigations on formation of melt bond non-wovens from poly-hydroxy-alkanoates will be continued. End-use properties of the fiber composites will be evaluated in terms of mechanical performance, wet performance, acoustical performance, thermal performance, and economic performance. (NE, TN and LA will be cooperating to accomplish objective 3d).

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

• Outputs: The most important strength of the project is its ability to deliver the output, which are: the monolithic film based non-woven barriers for protection from biological hazards; plasma treatments for both woven and non-woven protective clothing; woolen non-woven automotive composites, interior fabric; ready to use bedding fire-barriers; bio-based antimicrobials; stable PLA and PHA polymers and valuable presentations/papers, theses and dissertations.

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

• Papers presented at AATCC, INDA, Beltwide Cotton Conferences, American Chemical Society, International Bio-based annual meetings. Theses and dissertations published at various universities. Patents, licenses and cooperative agreements with specific industries will be pursued.
• development of enhanced barriers to biological hazards; high value and newer markets for cotton and wool has immediate and long-term impacts on the US cotton crop and sheep and wool industry; jobs in rural areas; new technologies for textile related companies; reduced end uses of plastics; emphasize the importance of using agricultural renewable resources to support an industrial material base; and will benefit farmers in stimulating rural economic development.

Milestones

(0):omplished from October 2006  September 2008: various types of non woven structures with monolithic films manufactured (TN) and characterized; plasma treatment will be done to create treated fabrics (WI) and sent for antimicrobial testing (GA); extraction, purification and characterization of antimicrobial and antifungal compounds (CO); design analyses completed on existent fire-fighters uniforms (AR and SLA): wool automotive textiles fire-barriers will be made (TX, AR, KS).

(0):ober 2008  September 2011: complete microbe (bacteria and virus) penetration and survival testing on all new substrates (GA and KS); all flammability testing completed (TX, WI, KS and USDA/SRRC): newer more advanced fire fighting uniforms designed and constructed and evaluated in use (AR, KS and SLA); PLA and PHA work will be completed (TN, LA and NE).

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

The results of this regional research project will be made available in an accessible manner through presentations at national meetings, refereed and non-refereed publications, special technical publications, annual reports that are published on the web, and a comprehensive bulletin that will be published after the project has been terminated. The S-1002 project members have had a very active publication history (appendix I). In addition, the new development technologies developed through this project will be made available to the textile industry. Many of the S-1002 technical committee members also are active members of the numerous professional and scientific organizations and interact with industry representatives on a regular basis.

The most important strength of the project is its ability to deliver the output, and contribute to scientific discoveries. This also enables to showcase the bio-based products to the US cotton, sheep and wool industry people at the ASI's annual listening sessions and international conferences focusing on bio-based products. Also, the findings from this study will be shared with ranchers and sheep industry people in other meetings such as the Texas Food and Fiber Commission's project review meetings. Results from the project will be distributed to interested parties in the form of "flyers". In addition, results will be presented at AATCC and INDA's annual INTC technical conferences. The PIs will make their best effort possible to share the samples and distribute results to the various industry people through their contacts in that industry. Apart from targeted outreach activities, results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented in national scientific forums.

Organization/Governance

The proposed list of technical committee members for this project is listed in Tables 1 and 2. For those states having more than one participant, one member will be designated as the voting member, as determined by that institution or AES director. The officers in the committee will consist of a chair, vice-chair, and secretary. The officers along with the project administrative advisor, USDA-CSREES representative, and USDA-ARS administrative advisor (Table 3) will serve as the executive committee. The advisors will be non-voting members.

The general operational procedures will be followed as in the CSREES Manual for Cooperative Regional Research. Officers for the first year will be elected at the first organizational meeting after the project has been approved. After the first year, the election of officers will take place at the annual technical committee meetings in the fall. The chair is responsible for notifying the members of the date and place of the annual meeting, preparing an agenda, presiding over the annual meetings, The chair also will be responsible for writing the annual report for the year he/she served as chair. The vice-chair will assist the chair with performing the duties of chair and make arrangement for the annual meetings. The secretary will be responsible for correspondence related to the technical committee as deemed necessary by the chair or vice-chair and taking/distributing minutes at the annual meetings to the technical committee members and advisors.
The duties of the technical committee (all members in Tables 1) are to coordinate the research and other activities related to the project. The technical committee will meet annually (usually in the fall) for the purposes of coordinating, reporting, and sharing research activities, procedures, and results, analyzing data, and conducting project business. The administrative advisor will be responsible for sending the technical committee members the necessary authorization for all official meetings.

Subcommittees and meetings may be designated by the chair, if needed, to accomplish various relevant research and administrative task, such as research planning and coordination, the development of specific cooperative research procedures, assimilation and analysis of data from contributing scientists, and publication of regional or other bulletins and reports.

Literature Cited

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American Society for Testing and Materials International. 2002. Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.

ANSI/AAMI PB70:2003, Liquid barrier performance and classification of protective apparel and drapes intended for use in health care facilities, October 2003.

Aymonier, Cyril, Ulf Schlotterbech, Lydie Antonietti, Philipp Zacharias, Joerg C. Tiller, and Stefan Mecking, Hybrids of Silver Nanoparticles with Amphiphilic Hyperbranched Macromolecules Exhibiting Antimicrobial Properties, Chem. Commun., 3018-3019, 2002.

Barnes, R.A., & Gerber, N.N. (1955). The antifungal agent from Osage orange wood. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 77(12), 3259-3262.

Collier, B.J., M. Dever, S. Petrovan, J.R. Collier, Z. Li, and X Wei, Rheology of Lyocell Solutions from Different Cellulose Sources, Journal of Polymers and the Environment, 8(3), 151-154 (2000, ©2002).

Denes, F. S.; Manolache, S. Progress in Polymer Science 2004, 29, 815-885.
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Lee, S.Y. 1998. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Production form Xylose by Recombinant Escherichia coli. Bioprocess Engineering, 18:397-399.

Lin, J., S. K. Murthy, et al. (2003). Making thin polymeric materials, including fabrics, microcidal and also water repellent. Biotechnology Letters 25: 1661-1665.

Lin, J., J. C. Tiller, et al. (2002). Insights into bactericidal action of surface-attached poly(vinyl-N-hexylpyridinium) chains. Biotechnology Letters 24: 801-805.

Lowe, N. E., & Negulescu, I. I., Thermal behavior of poly(lactic acid) related to the application of disperse dyes, in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference & Exhibition of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, Research Triangle Park, NC: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, 55-63(2000).

Lunt, J. and Shafer, A.L., Polylactic acid polymers from corn, Applications in the textiles industry, J. Industrial Textiles, 29, 191-205(2000).

Madison, L. and G. W. Huisman. 1999. Metabolic Engineering of Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates): From DNA to Plastic. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 63:21-53.

Negulescu, Ioan. I., Chen Yan, Xiaoqun Zhang and Liangfeng Sun, Jacquelene Robeck, Valeriy G. Yachmenev, Timothy A. Calamari, Jr., and Dharnidhar V. Parikh. All Cellulosic Composite Nonwoven Materials. 2003 INTC Conference Proceedings.

Ramaswamy, G. N. and M. Kambam,(2004). Flammability of Cotton/Inherently Flame Resistant Blends. Proceedings of The Annual INDA Conference, September, Toronto.

Sun, C. Q., D. Zhang, L. C. Wadsworth and E. M. McLean, Jr., Processing and Property Study of Cotton-Surfaced Nonwovens, Textile Research Journal 70 (5), 449-453 (2000).

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Sun, Gang and Xiangjing Xu, Durable and Regenerable Antibacterial Finishing of Fabrics: Chemical Structures, Textile Chemist and Colorist 31, No. 5, pp 31-35, 1999.

Tiller, Joerg C., Chun-Jen Liao, Kim Lewis, and Alexander M. Klibanov, Designing Surfaces that Kill Bacteria on Contact, Proc Natl Acad Sci 98, 5981-5985, 2001.

Tiller, Joerg C., Sang Beom Lee, and Alexander M. Klibanov, Polymer Surfaces Derivatized with Poly(Vinly-N-Hexylpyridinium) Kill Airborne and Waterborne Bacteria, Biotechnology and Bioengineering 79, No. 4, 465-471, 2002.

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Virk, R., and G. N. Ramaswamy, Plasma and Antimicrobial Treatment for Surgical Gown Fabrics, Tex. Res. J. 74 (12), 1073  1079. 2004.

Wadsworth, L.C. and P.P. Tsai, Enhancement of Cotton-Containing Barrier Fabrics with Breathable Films and Protective Finishes for Safety from Biological Threats, Proceedings, Eight Nonvowens Conference at 2005 Beltwide Cotton conferencex, New Orleans, LA, January 4-7, 2005.

Wadsworth, L. C. and H. C. Allen, Jr., Development of Highly Breathable and Effective Blood/Viral Barrier Laminates of Microporous Films, Staple Fibers and Nonwovens, J. of Coated Fabrics, Vol 28, 1998.

Wadsworth, L. C., H. S. Suh and H. C. Allen, Jr., Cotton-Surfaced Nonwovens for Short-Wear-Cycle Apparel, International Nonwovens Journal 9 (2), 13-17, 2000.

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Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

AR, CO, GA, LA, NE, TN, WA, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Texas Tech University