Reloadable fabric administers medicine via the skin

iLoad is a new textile carrier from Swiss Schoeller Textil, designed to deliver therapeutic medicines transdermally.

Just the other day we covered Twosquaremeter’s knitwear made with milk and seaweed fibers thought to benefit the skin, but since then we’ve come across a fabric with potentially greater beneficial properties. Dubbed iLoad, the new textile from Swiss Schoeller Textil is designed to deliver therapeutic medicines transdermally, or via the skin. It wasn’t long ago that we covered Schoeller’s contribution to Levi’s Commuter series of jeans for bicyclists but the company’s new iLoad innovation may have the potential to make even more of an impact. Targeting medical wellness, workwear and sports, the iLoad system is comprised of a base fabric along with a special “donor layer” that coats every fiber. When introduced to a positively charged active agent emulsion — typically via the rinse program in an industrial or domestic washing machine — the negatively charged donor layer attracts the treatment substance like a magnet in just a few minutes. Confronted with warmth, vibration, moisture and perspiration, the fabric then unloads its medicine transdermally at a rate that can be adapted for specific purposes. When washed, any residual medicine is released, leaving the iLoad fabric ready to be reloaded with another treatment. In the last few months we’ve also seen fabric that can neutralize body odors and even purify the surrounding air. Clothing, bedding and healthcare entrepreneurs: no shortage of new innovations to work from! Spotted by: Aletta Zeeman