Toray’s New Antiviral Textile Fabric MAKSPEC® V Proves Effective In Combating COVID-19

Image Courtesy of Toray

Tokyo, Japan, March, 2021 – Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that its tests on samples of MAKSPEC® V have confirmed the effectiveness of that antiviral textile  in reducing concentrations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).

The company developed this 100% polyester offering in March 2020. It delivers exceptional washability and comfort.

This polyester material is the fruit of proprietary textiles processing technology that ensures the durability of antiviral processing while providing a soft and comfortable texture. The antiviral properties of MAKSPEC V reduce the lipid bilayer envelopes of viruses on the material.

Toray aims to propose an array of applications that take advantage of these features. These extend from service, medical, work, school wear, and other uniforms to sportswear, casual apparel, and fashionwear.

The company will commercialize MAKSPEC V textiles in January 2021. It targets 300,000 square meters in sales in 2022, rising to 1 million square meters in 2025.

Washability has been a key challenge with agent fixation to eliminate viral envelopes. The common practice has thus been to employ cotton blend materials that make fixation easier, but such a solution cannot offer the easy care, stretch, or sweat wicking of synthetic materials.

Another approach has been to use polyester incorporating adhesives to ensure washability. This has constrained the development of clothing applications, however, as adhesives harden textile textures.

Toray resolved these issues by using optimal antiviral agents and leveraging a proprietary fixation technique for polyester fibers.

Because of its ability to reduce envelope strains, MAKSPEC V accordingly received certification under the SEK Mark program of the Japan Textile Evaluation Technology Council as an Antiviral Finished Textile Product.

MAKSPEC V also offers excellent commercial laundry washability.

MAKSPEC V maintains textile softness for wearer comfort.

Another key advantage is that it offers the colourfastness needed for fabric in regular apparel.

Toray will accordingly cultivate broad apparel applications by combining these features.

MAKSPEC® V Tests

Toray used the JISL 1922 antiviral test for textile products.

It exposed samples to COVID-19 and measured concentrations two hours later.

As with earlier experimentation using the ATCC VR-1679 envelope strain, the company confirmed that the fabric reduced more than 99.9% of COVID-19 viruses on textiles.

It obtained this same result even after 50 industrial washing cycles, underscoring the fabric’s solid antiviral performance.

To date, Toray has positioned MAKSPEC® V to reduce envelope-type virus.

In view of the latest findings, the company will market this textile for customer service, nursing, and school uniforms for which demand to safeguard from COVID-19 is high.

It also envisages expanding applications for this textile to also include sportswear, casual apparel, fashionwear, and children’s clothing.

Toray will draw on the textile processing technology it amassed in developing materials for uniforms, which demand exceptional functionality, to create textiles that provide outstanding performance and added value by combining comfort and safety, thus contributing to social progress.