Description:FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

Title:
NON-WOVEN FABRIC PRODUCTS DETECTABLE UNDER X-RAY AND METAL DETECTORS

(a) Applicant Name: WELSPUN INDIA LIMITED

(b) Nationality: Indian

(C) Address- WELSPUN HOUSE, 7TH FLOOR, KAMAL CITY , LOWER PAREL, SENAPATI BAPAT MARG, MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA - 400 013

3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
COMPLETE

Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to non-woven fabrics with metallic finishes. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to efficient and cost-effective methods of applying metallic coatings and provides embodiments that are preferable for hygienic, medical, food, and related applications.
Background
In many industries, quick and effective sanitization is a primary concern. Companies and individuals rely on a variety of disposable products to ensure that proper sanitary measures are taken. As such, there is a growing need for disposable products. More specifically, there is a growing demand for cost-effective disposable non-woven fabric products used for hygienic, medical, and food industry applications, as well as other niche markets.
Over the past several decades, the demand for disposable non-woven fabric goods has been rapidly increasing. Users have adopted disposable options for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avoid laundering and sanitizing reusable products. Further, non-woven fabric products can be engineered with highly specific functional properties such as lint-free, highly absorbent, or antimicrobial. As the demand for disposable goods increases, the non-woven fabric products industry has continued to evolve and offer various finished fabrics and end-use products. However, innovations to reduce costs and improve manufacturing efficiency have not kept pace with the demand for engineered non-woven fabric goods.
Wipes are generally disposable non-woven fabric products that are engineered to meet a specific end use requirement. For example, non-woven fabric wipes have become increasingly relied on for a variety of applications such as medical applications (e.g. hospital use and home healthcare), personal hygiene, and hard surface sanitization. As another example, electrostatic dusting wipes are widely used by consumers seeking to remove dust and dirt quickly and easily.
Engineered non-woven fabric products are often finished, coated, or otherwise treated to have some added benefit. For example, surgical wipes, which are commonly used to clean a patient’s skin around a surgical site before or after a surgery which may be engineered to comprise a sterile non-woven fabric treated with an antiseptic (e.g. chlorhexidine gluconate).
Metallic finishes have been applied to non-woven fabrics to support various benefits. For example, zinc can be used to accelerate the healing of topical wounds and to treat the herpes virus, and silver is known to disinfect burn wounds. The demand for metallic surface treatments goes hand-in-hand with the increased awareness of spreading germs (i.e., bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa) through surface contact. Similarly, metallic finishes that are known are used in the apparel and durable goods industries for various purposes. Even though metallic finishes have been proven to be beneficial and desirable in a variety of applications, the use of metallic finishes is not widespread in non-woven fabric products due to high cost and low production speeds.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a cost-effective and efficient method of implementing the benefits of metals in non-woven fabric products. More specifically, there exists a need in the art for an inexpensive, absorbent nonwoven fabric that may be used in a variety of industries, including the medical, hygiene, and food industries.
Summary
This invention aids in fulfilling needs in the art by providing a cost-effective and efficient method of implementing the benefits of certain metals in non-woven fabric products through the application of metallic finishes. More specifically, this disclosure provides an inexpensive, absorbent non-woven fabric that may be used in a variety of industries, including the medical, hygiene, and food industries. Further, these teachings may be implemented to add value to consumer disposable items like moist towelettes and personal hygiene wipes, as well as time saving products, such as household cleaning wipes.
Embodiments of the present disclosure present technological improvements as solutions to one or more of the above mentioned technical problems recognized by the inventors in the field of art. For example, certain disclosed embodiments provide absorbent non-woven fabric products while providing metal detectable properties to improve safety in the hygienic, medical, food, and related industries.
In one embodiment, a metallic non-woven fabric may include a non-woven fabric having a weight of 20-800 g/m2, a thickness of 0.20-10.0 mm, a machine direction elongation of 30 to 70%, a cross direction elongation of 50-150%, an absorption time of less than four seconds, a water holding capacity of at least 400% (measured by weight), or combinations thereof; and a metallic finish, wherein the metallic finish comprises one or more of zinc, silver, platinum, titanium, vanadium, iron, cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum (cisplatin), titanium, vanadium, gold, silver, copper, lanthanum, bismuth, or aluminum. The non-woven fabric material may be made from cotton, rayon, viscose, cellulose, acetate, nylon, jute, silk, wool, polyester, polypropylene, poly(lactic acid), polyethylene, bicomponent, splitable bicomponent, elastomers, polyvinyl chloride, calcium carbonate, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, charcoal, carbon, or combinations thereof. The non-woven fabric may be one or more of a variety of structures, including three-dimensional, plain, perforated, or embossed structure. The metallic finish used may include gold, silver, aluminum, copper, steel, iron, nickel, zinc, platinum, lanthanum, bismuth, or any combination thereof. The metallic finish may be detectable by X-ray or metal detector. In certain embodiments, the metallic finish may be printed onto the non-woven fabric. In certain embodiments, the metallic finish may by 0.1% to 15% metal particles (measured by weight), and 3% to 25% binder composition (measured by weight). In other embodiments, the metallic finish comprises 0.1% to 15% metal particles (measured by weight), 3% to 25% binder composition (measured by weight), and 1% to 10% disinfectant chemical (measured by weight). In embodiments engineered for medical use, the metallic non-woven fabric may be engineered for excellent antibacterial property, which may be evaluated per AATCC 100 standard test method. In embodiments engineered for the food and beverage industries, the metallic non-woven may be engineered with useful disinfectant and be designed to be metal detectable for food packaging and food serving cleaning areas.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, explain the disclosed principles.
FIG. 1. is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of processing fibers to form a metallic coated non-woven fabric.
FIG. 2 is a non-woven having an all over print with ferrous metal particles.
FIG. 3 is a non-woven have a floral print with metal particles.
Detailed Description
To address the shortcomings in the art, a cost-effective and efficient method of applying metallic finishes to non-woven fabric products is disclosed.
Non-woven fabrics may be produced by forming a sheet or web of fibers, bonding the fibers together, and finishing the resulting fabric. Sheets or webs may be formed using a variety of techniques, such as meltblowing, wetlaying, or carding. The fibers may be bonded together mechanically (e.g. needle punching, air jet, water jet), thermally, or chemically. After a fabric has been formed, various finishing treatments (e.g. mechanical, chemical, coatings, lamination) may be applied to render desirable fabric properties tailored to the needs of the end application.
Non-woven fabric products are highly engineered. In certain applications, fiber selection is important for the engineering process. Many kinds of fibers may be implemented in non-woven fabrics. The selection may be based on factors such as cost, ease of processing, and the desired end use of the non-woven fabric or product.
Processing performance (e.g. web cohesion) is directly impacted by fiber properties, such as fiber length, diameter, tenacity, elongation, and crimp. The fibers selected may be natural (e.g., cotton, flax, hemp, wool, silk) or synthetic (e.g., polyester, polypropylene). High performance fibers (e.g. glass, carbon, aramids) may be used in certain non-woven fabric products.
It is contemplated that any desirable fiber may be used by modifying properties of the non-woven fabric. It is further contemplated that the desired fibers may be selected based on their cost or physical properties such as strength, durability, hand, elasticity, frictional properties, moisture regain, and resistance to ultraviolet (UV) light and mildew. It is contemplated that any natural, synthetic, or high performance fiber may be suited to receive the cost-efficient metallic coating. More specifically, cotton, rayon, Tencel, viscose, cellulose acetate, nylon, jute, silk, wool, polyester, polypropylene, poly(lactic acid), polyethylene, bicomponent, splitable bicomponent, elastomers, polyvinyl chloride, calcium carbonate, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, charcoal, carbon, or combinations thereof are most desirable. Blending and blend ratios may be calculated in accordance with AATCC 20-A. Further, the non-woven should weigh 20-800 grams per square meter; have a thickness of 0.2 to 10 mm; have a MD:CD strength ratio of 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 2:1.25; have a MD elongation of 30-70% and a CD elongation of 50-150%, a water holding capacity of at least 400%; and a sinking time/absorption time of up to 4 seconds. The non-woven structure may be 3D, perforated, plain, or embossed.
With reference to the Figures, Fig. 1 discloses a flowchart providing an overview of an exemplary method for producing an absorbent non-woven fabric comprising a metallic element (sometimes referred to as a metallic finish or a metallic coating).
In exemplary method 100, fiber materials were pretreated 102 using commercially known means, such as opening and cleaning, blending, carding, and/or, in any desirable combination, to form a fiber web. Occasionally, the pretreatment step 102 may include combing. Combing may be carried out where a premium product with superior properties (e.g., softness) is desired. However, combing increases the final cost of the end product and it should only be used where the desired properties are required.
Opening and cleaning is often the first step of pretreating the fiber materials 102. A skilled artisan would understand that fibers are often packaged into compressed bales for transportation. To increase the uniformity and quality of the end product, the fibers must be opened before cleaning. During opening, an opening machine (sometimes called an opener), is used to break apart compacted fiber clumps. These machines use large spikes to fluff the fibers and, in the case of natural fibers, remove debris.
Blending is a process that may occur at various phases during the pretreatment of fiber materials 102. For example, blending may be done during opening where fibers from multiple bales of fiber are combined. This is commonly done to prevent durable fabric defects (e.g., to increase uniformity between dye lots or reduce the risk of barre in knitted fabrics). However, it is desirable in non-woven applications (e.g., to increase product uniformity). Similarly, fibers of different types may be blended together during processes such as opening or carding for various reasons (e.g., introduce low melt or highly absorbent fibers).
It will be appreciated that the absorbent non-woven may be produced using a mixture of multiple types of fiber materials to produce a blend thereof. For example, if the desired end product comprises a blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, the fibers may be blended together during opening and/or carding so that the fibers are separated and distributed uniformly. Alternatively, if an end product with two distinct components (e.g., a cotton layer and a polyester layer) is desired, the fibers may be opened and processed individually and combined at the fabric phase.
As mentioned above, the pretreatment of the fiber materials 102 may comprise the carding of the fibers. Carding refers to a mechanical process that further disentangles, cleans, and blends the fiber materials to produce a continuous web for subsequent processing. More specifically, carding refers to a method of forming a fibrous web by processing staple fibers through a carding machine, which separates or breaks apart and aligns the staple fibers in the machine direction to form a generally machine direction oriented fibrous web. Generally, carding produces a homogenous mixture of fiber materials that can be further processed depending upon the type of absorbent non-woven fabric required for the end application.
Drawing may also occur during the processing of the fiber materials 102. Drawing is a process where multiple webs are combined and further straightened. For example, six webs may be fed through a drawing frame to produce a single web of a desired weight. Drawing is done for various reasons, including to increase the uniformity of the fiber web before bonding occurs.
Combing may also occur during the processing of the fiber materials 102. Combing is a process where shorter fibers are removed from the web. This is optional and is often implemented where shorter fibers are undesired. Combing is most common in ring spun yarn manufacturing for apparel, but it has been used in the non-woven fabric industry for special purposes (e.g. where a softness is desirable or where the it is desirable for the end product to have a reduced amount of short fibers).
Referring again to Fig. 1, the fiber web is then bonded 104 using commercially known bonding techniques, such as needle punching, air jet, hydroentanglement (also referred to as aqua jetting or spunlacing), and/or calendaring, to form a non-woven fabric. It is contemplated that the bonded nonwoven fabric may be either randomly oriented or directionally oriented in the machine direction (MD) or cross direction (CD).
Bonding is the process where the fiber sheet or web is formed into a non-woven fabric by bonding the fibers together. Generally, there are three types of bonding: mechanical, thermal, and chemical.
Mechanical bonding includes operations, such as needle punching, air jet, and hydroentanglement. In mechanical bonding, the non-woven fabric is formed by entangling the fibers together. With mechanical bonding, a fiber web gains strength through inter-fiber friction as a result of the physical entanglement of the fibers. For example, mechanical bonding may be achieved through needle punching, wherein specially designed barbed needles are pushed and pulled through the web to entangle the fibers. Notably, fiber webs of different characteristics can be needled together to produce a gradation of properties difficult to achieve by other means. Needle punching may be used with most fiber types, however, due to the nature of the process very fine fibers are not recommended. Alternatively, mechanical bonding may be performed using hydroentanglement. It uses fine and high pressure water jets to cause the fibers to interlace. With hydroentangling, the arrangement of jets can also be used to give a wide variety of aesthetically pleasing effects, and the water jet pressure used has a direct bearing on the strength of the web.
Thermal bonding includes processes such as calendaring, and/or hot air bonding. In thermal bonding, heat sensitive components (e.g. bicomponent fibers, blended fibers, powders) are used to fuse the fibers together. Thermal bonding may be carried out on any suitable machine, such as a calendaring machine or heated through air machine. A calendaring machine uses heated rolls to melt the fibers together. Calendaring is often used for thin fabrics where mechanical bonding is not desirable. A heated through air machine feeds fabrics through an oven where heated air is pulled (or blown) through the fiber web to melt the fibers together; because pressure is not applied (like in calendaring) heated through air is often used to produce loftier or bulkier fabrics.
In some cases, the primary fiber itself may permit thermal bonding; however, a low melt fiber or bicomponent fiber may be introduced at web formation stage to perform the bonding function. Optionally, bonding may include a calendaring process that uses heat and high pressure applied through rollers to weld the fiber webs together at high speed. Alternatively, through air thermal bonding may be employed using a controlled hot air stream, producing a bulky nonwoven fabric. Optionally, drum and blanket systems that apply pressure and heat to the fiber materials may be employed to produce non-woven fabric of average bulk.
Chemical bonding commonly relies on the use of binders and/or solvents to form a non-woven fabric. The binder may be applied in various ways, including spray bonding, roller application, padding, foam, and printing. The binder may be dried in various drying systems. When chemical bonding is employed to form the absorbent non-woven fabrics, a liquid-based bonding agent may be applied to the fabric web, such as acrylate polymers and copolymers, styrene-butadiene copolymers, or vinyl acetate ethylene copolymers. Moreover, while water-based binder systems are most widely used, powdered adhesives, foam and in some cases organic solvent solutions can be employed. The binder may be applied in at least one of a plurality of methods such as by impregnating, coating or spraying or intermittently as in print bonding. Importantly, in the medical and hygiene applications detailed in this application, any chemical binder selected should be approved for such use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A skilled artisan would understand that the bonding method is selected based on the fiber type and desired end use. For example, hydroentanglement is best suited for hydrophobic fibers to ensure that drying time is minimized (and thus that the costs are reduced). In another example, calendaring may be selected where there is a fiber with a desirable melting point present in the fiber web. A skilled artisan would understand that calendaring will not create adequate bonding where heat will not impact the bonding of the fibers (e.g., cotton). Instead, if a type of thermal bonding is employed to form the absorbent nonwoven fabrics, thermoplastic fibers should be utilized to form bonds when controlled heat is applied.
Importantly, bonding directly impacts the resulting non-woven fabric’s physical properties. For example, if a non-woven fabric is not adequately bonded, the fibers will slip free of each other in the fiber web whenever force, stress, and/or load is applied; however, if a non-woven fabric is over bonded, it will have an undesirable hand (or a harsh end texture) and unnecessary fiber damage.
Additionally, it is foreseen that a fiber web may be formed using techniques where the pre-processing step 102 and bonding step 104 are combined into a single step, for example by meltblowing.
Meltblowing is single-step process for manufacturing non-woven fabrics where a molten thermoplastic (e.g., polypropylene) is extruded onto a moving belt or screen. Heated gas is used to blow the extruded molten plastic onto the moving screen in a randomly oriented and evenly distributed manner to cool and form a non-woven fabric. Meltblown non-woven fabrics have many uses. For example, meltblowing can be used to produce fibers that are doped with drugs and capable of delivering controlled doses of the drugs to patients.
It is contemplated that the resulting non-woven fabric would be designed to have certain physical properties. For example, the resulting fabric would comprise a weight of 20-800 g/m2 (measured in accordance with NWSP 130.1 (15)), a thickness of 0.20-10.0 mm (measured in accordance with NWSP 120.6 (15)), a machine direction elongation of 30 to 70% (measured in accordance with NWSP 110.4 (15)), a cross direction elongation of 50-150% (measured in accordance with NWSP 110.4 (15)), an absorption time of less than four seconds (measured in accordance with NWSP 10.1 (15)), a water holding capacity of at least 400% measured by weight (measured in accordance with NWSP 10.1 (15)), or any combination thereof.
After bonding 104, the non-woven fabric is treated to add metallic elements 106. Treating the non-woven with metallic elements provides a variety of desirable properties such as rendering the non-woven fabric detectable under X-ray or metal detectors. As used herein, “metallic element” may be used to describe the application of metal particulate to a non-woven fabric by coating/finishing, printing, or any other suitable process.
The metallic element may be applied using a variety of techniques to form a non-woven fabric with desirable properties, such as being X-ray detectable. For example, the non-woven may receive a metallic particles coating by padding, knife coating, foam coating, printing, or foil printing. Where padding is used, the metallic particles are applied in a solution form. Where knife coating is used, the metal particles are applied in a paste form. Where foam coating is used, the metallic particles are applied in a foam form. When printing is used, the metallic particles are applied in a paste form. When foil printing is used, the metallic particles are applied by foil roll. The percentage of metallic particulate present in the coating vehicle (e.g., liquid, paste, foam) may comprise 5 to 50 percent metallic particulate by weight. With any of these methods, it is foreseen that the non-woven fabric would be input as slitted fabric rolls to make the width of the non-woven more manageable before applying the metal particulate. After the metallic particles are applied using any of the methods described, the treated non-woven would undergo drying to set the metallic particles and slitting and winding to prepare the treated non-woven for further processing.
A skilled artisan will understand that one layer of metallic particulate is sufficient to achieve the desired end result and that only a small amount of deposited thinly on the non-woven fabric to make it detectable (e.g., as little as 6 grams per square meter), thus the resulting product is flexible and pliable. Notably, after being treated with a metallic element, the absorbent non-woven fabric becomes detectable by X-ray or metal detector, thereby ensuring that the non-woven fabric is not accidentally present in unwanted locations. For example, non-woven fabric products such as sponges and wipes are used during surgery help to absorb blood and other body fluids. Currently these non-woven fabric sponges and wipes are not detectable under X-ray or metal detector. However, applying the above teachings, non-woven fabric sponges and wipes may be improved by treating with the metal particles to make the end products detectable under X-ray or metal detector. By making such detectable non-woven fabric products, medical professionals would be able to conveniently identify and collect the non-woven fabric products and prevent accidently leaving the non-woven fabric product inside the patient’s body after surgery.
Examples of beneficial metals that may be used in medical detectable non-woven fabric products include: zinc (can be used topically to heal wounds or treat the herpes virus); silver (can be used to prevent infection at the burn site for burn wound patients); platinum, titanium, vanadium, iron, or cis- Diamminedichloroplatinum (has been shown to react with DNA specifically in tumor cells to treat patients with cancer); titanium, vanadium, gold, silver, copper (phosphine ligand compounds containing gold, silver, and copper have anti-cancer properties); lanthanum (lanthanum carbonate may be used as a phosphate binder in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease); bismuth (bismuth subsalicylate may be used as an antacid), or aluminum. Where the end application seeks to make a nonwoven product metal detectable, ferrous iron, aluminum, and/or copper is most desirable. Further, use of metallic finishing may improve the microbiology characteristics of the non-woven. For example, total bacteria counts of less than 100 cfu/gm (measured in accordance with ISO 11737-1), total yeast and mold counts of less than 25 cfu/gm (measured in accordance with ISO 11737-1), and an absence of pathogens (measured in accordance with ISO 11737-1) may be achieved. Further, the reduction of staphylococcus aureus by 99% (measured in accordance with AATCC 100-2019) and reduction of klebsiella pneumoniae by 99% (measured in accordance with AATCC 100-2019) may be achieved.
An example of a possible metallic finish comprises metal powder comprising 15 to 0.1 % and more specifically comprising 0.1% of the finish by weight, an acrylic binder of at least 3 gpl, a PU binder of at least 3 gpl, an acrylic thickener of at least 1 gpl, a surfactant of at least 0.5 gpl, and a catatonic disinfectant of at least 1 gpl.
In another example, nonwoven fabric wipes are commonly used in the food industry to clean production lines. Currently, employees must remember to remove the wipes after cleaning and before restarting the machinery. If an employee forgets, the wipe may be processed and packaged into the food products. This can cause substantial waste because a manufacturer may be forced to dispose of an entire batch of food product. However, by applying the above teachings, non-woven fabric wipes could be generated that are detectable under X-ray or metal detector. By making such a detectable product, a food manufacturer could efficiently conduct quality screening to ensure that none of the manufactured food products have been contaminated by the cleaning wipes. Further, in an application where the wipe is used for cleaning and scrubbing, the metal particulate serves as an abrasive to increase the efficiency of the wipe.
Furthermore, additional chemicals may be implemented into the solution comprising the metallic particulate to achieve additional desired properties. For example, an absorbent non-woven fabric may be manufactured implementing chlorhexidine gluconate and silver in certain medical applications. A product with multiple properties may be desirable in many fields, including the medical and food industries. For example, absorbent non-woven fabric may be manufactured and saturated with isopropyl alcohol and iron particulate in certain medical applications.
After treating the non-woven fabric with the metallic element 106, the detectable non-woven fabric is dried 108 at a temperature that is adjusted based on the fiber properties (e.g. glass transition temperature, melting point). The drying time will be dependent on the method that was used to apply the metallic element. For example, if the metallic element was applied by dipping the non-woven fabric in a finishing bath, a longer drying time may be required.
Optionally, either before or after the non-woven fabric is treated with the metallic element, slitting and winding 110 may be done to make the fabric more manageable to process. Winding the absorbent nonwoven fabric refers to winding the absorbent non-woven fabric in form of a roll, wherein the absorbent non-woven fabric may be slit into two or more rolls and/or a plurality of slit sheets. Optionally, crush-cut slitting may be employed to slit the absorbent non-woven fabrics.
The parameters used to produce the absorbent non-woven fabric will depend on the desired end use. For example, in the food and beverage industry, the end product may be required to be sterile and treated with X-ray or metal detector detectable metals. This feature is desirable because, when cleaning a machine used for food preparation, it is possible that a cleaning wipe may accidentally be passed through to the food and beverage products. By making the wipes detectable, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of passing a wipe through to the consumer. Additionally, the metallic particles can help in reducing the microbial growth. Further, fabrics treated with metallic particles can also help in cleaning the surface and maintaining the hygiene conditions. In another example, the metallic particles may be tailored to a specific medical application. For example, zinc and silver particles may be used in non-wovens used in wound management and to heal critical wounds. Additionally, non-wovens sponges and wipes are frequently used during medical procedures to help to absorb the blood and other body fluids; however, these products are not detectable under X-ray and may accidentally be left in the patient after a procedure. Using a metallic particles treated non-woven that can be detected under X-ray could allow doctors to and convenient for the doctors to identify and collect the nonwoven sponges / wipes prior to finishing a procedure.
In a specific embodiment, the different bonding types such as mechanical, chemical, thermal can be used for Wel Wipes. nonwoven made of 100% polyester (100 ± 10 grams per square meter) having a 30% by weight content of ferrous iron was made.
Fig. 2 illustrates a nonwoven material with an allover print with ferrous iron metal particles. In this example, the surface of a 100% polyester spunlaced nonwoven (50 grams per square meter) was coated with metallic particles such as silver, copper and iron whciu are applied by
Fig. 3 illustrates a nonwoven material with an floral print with metal particles. In this example, the surface of a 80% polyester / 20 % viscose was printed with ferrous (iron) powder.

, C , Claims:CLAIMS
1. A metallic non-woven fabric, comprising:
a non-woven fabric material fabric having a weight of 20-800 g/m2, a thickness of 0.20-10.0 mm, a machine direction elongation of 30 to 70%, a cross direction elongation of 50-150%, an absorption time of less than four seconds, a water holding capacity of at least 400% (measured by weight), or combinations thereof; and
a metallic finish, wherein the metallic finish comprises one or more of zinc, silver, platinum, titanium, vanadium, iron, cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum (cisplatin), titanium, vanadium, gold, silver, copper, lanthanum, bismuth, or aluminum.
2. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the non-woven fabric material comprises cotton, rayon, viscose, cellulose, acetate, nylon, jute, silk, wool, polyester, polypropylene, poly(lactic acid), polyethylene, bicomponent, splitable bicomponent, elastomers, polyvinyl chloride, calcium carbonate, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, charcoal, carbon, or combinations thereof.
3. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the metallic finish comprises gold, silver, aluminum, copper, steel, iron, nickel, zinc, platinum, lanthanum, bismuth, or any combination thereof.
4. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the metallic finish is detectable by X-ray or metal detector.
5. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises a three-dimensional, plain, perforated, or embossed structure.
6. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the metallic finish is printed onto the non-woven fabric.
7. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the metallic finish comprises 0.1% to 15% metal particles (measured by weight), and 3% to 25% binder composition (measured by weight).
8. The metallic non-woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the metallic finish comprises 0.1% to 15% metal particles (measured by weight), 3% to 25% binder composition (measured by weight), and 1% to 10% disinfectant chemical (measured by weight).
9. The metallic non-woven of claim 1, wherein the non-woven has bacterial colonial reduction above 99% when evaluated with the AATCC 100 standard test method.

Dated this 28th December 2022