It is a groundbreaking invention created by two Portuguese companies that will help combat deadly diseases like yellow fever, dengue and malaria.
The simple beach-towel has been developed by swimwear manufacturer Enamorata and nanotechnology specialists from Barcelos, Smart Innovation.
The beauty of it is that it doesn’t actually kill mosquitoes, it just repels them…ecologically.
Even better, the towel presents no kind of toxic threat to animals or humans.
It works by using special silica nanoparticles, which stay active for up to 80 washes.
Enamorata representative Fátima Costa said that “despite the fact that anti-mosquito clothing already exists, the repellent effect is usually lost after only a few washes. It is only now, with the development of nanotechnology, that it has been possible to create a long-lasting efficient product, resistant to as many as 80 washes up to a temperature of 90º”.
The clever towel is now being tested by the Portuguese Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine but is already seen as a huge step forward towards a world where textiles can be used for the benefit of humanity.
As its designers point out, in Africa every 45 seconds a child dies from malaria. With inventions like this one, those statistics could soon be consigned to the past.
