US Patent 7268269 - Decontamination of textiles using nanocrystals

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7268269.html

This patent from Gentex uses nanocrystals for chemical/biological disinfection of clothing. In order to prevent agglomeration of the nanocrystals ionized air is used to provide a repelling effect. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of protecting against a chemical or biological agent with a textile-based decontaminant, comprising the steps of: providing finely-divided metal-containing nanocrystals which possess protective properties and which cling together; aerating the nanocrystals with ionized air so that the nanocrystals become charged and therefor repel each other; and bonding the charged nanocrystals directly to the textile to non-occludingly retain the nanocrystal surface structure such that an interior of the textile is adapted to decontaminate chemical or biological agents disposed within a portion of the environment that encounters the interior of the textile.