CycloPure Inc. is announcing it now has the ability to bond its polymers into textiles, marking a breakthrough in adsorption technology, as the company can infuse its proprietary adsorbent materials into fibers.

The company had previously developed materials with superior adsorption that rapidly remove pollutants and other contaminants in the treatment of water and air.

The advancement enables the development of polymerized textiles and fiber materials, such as water purification membranes, odor controlling fabrics, respirators and other protective materials.

The functionalization process was developed at Cornell University in collaboration with the Dichtel Lab, led by CycloPure’s co-founder Will Dichtel, and the Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory, led by Juan Hinestroza.

Details were presented in a paper titled “Cotton Fabric Functionalized with a β-Cyclodextrin Polymer Captures Organic Pollutants from Contaminated Air and Water.”

In the study, cotton was functionalized in a single-step process, and when it was tested for uptake of pollutants in water and air, the polymerized fibers performed 10 times better than untreated cotton fabric and other commercial adsorbents.