Paper innovation holds promise for improved global health

A Canadian-invented bioactive paper has been developed that contains the ingredients to detect and ward off life-threatening bacteria and viruses like E.coli, salmonella and SARS.

Researchers from 10 universities across Canada, nine industry partners, and federal and provincial government agencies have formed a research consortium named the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network to develop easy-to-use, paper-based products with biologically active chemicals that can protect the public against increasing incidents of food, water and air-borne illnesses.

They are investigating the development of a "bioactive ink' which would allow biologically active chemicals to be printed, coated or impregnated onto or into paper using current paper-making and high-speed printing processes.

"What bioactive paper will offer are immediacy, portability and low costs in detecting and repelling or deactivating harmful pathogens," said Professor Robert Pelton, scientific director of Sentinel and a professor of chemical engineering, specialising in pulp-and-paper research. "Right now, it can take days or weeks to get samples to a lab, diagnose the problem and get the remedy into the field."

Potential products that could be manufactured using bioactive paper include: food packaging that signals the presence of E.coli and salmonella, hospital masks that detect and deactivate harmful air-borne viruses such as SARS, dip-sticks that can detect and purify unsafe drinking water and paper strips that can check for banned pesticides on produce.

This development would significantly aid health workers in developing countries, where there are 1.6 million diarrhoeal deaths annually due to sanitation issues, mainly among children under five, and over one billion people who lack access to an improved water source.

"The development of bioactive paper holds potential benefits for the paper products industry as well," said George Rosenberg, managing director of Sentinel. "It provides our industrial partners with the opportunity to develop innovative, high value-added paper and packaging products."