Advances in materials for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective clothing

Protective Multifunctional Fibrous Systems Based on Natural Fibers and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

“…CWAs are usually synthetical or natural derived chemical compounds that have the capacity to easily and quickly penetrate the skin, being in most cases incapacitating and even lethal [ 18 ]. These types of weapons are probably one of the most dangerous threats created by man, that can easily become agents of mass destruction.…”

“…They represent one of the most dangerous type of CWAs since they provoke fast effects and can enter the victim’s body by several routes [ 21 ]. For example, their skin permeability rates are of approximately 0.1 cm/min [ 18 ]. In the specific cases of the chemically pure forms of G-agents, like soman and sarin, they have a water-like appearance and are soluble in water and organic solvents.…”

“…Although on most occasions these types of agents are not lethal, they can strongly incapacitate the victims, which can result in hospitalization that can go from one to four weeks [ 9 ]. Their skin permeability rates are of approximately 2.0 cm/min [ 18 ].…”

“…BWAs are more lethal than the chemical ones, but they don’t have the capability to penetrate the skin, attaching themselves to clothing in high concentrations, resulting in large contaminations [ 18 ].…”

“…Most recently, in the United States the most used chemical suit is known as Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) and is based on beaded activated carbon as the inner layer of the knitted laminate and an outer layer of nylon and cotton. As the activated carbon presents several disadvantages, efforts are being made in order to reduce its quantity on JSLIST, namely by its replacement with perm-selective membranes, functionalized nanofibers and superhydrophobic materials [ 18 ].…”