Cotton fabrics modified with molybdenum nanoclusters for photodynamic inactivation of bacteria and viruses

Design of self-sterilizing materials for protecting surfaces from pathogenic microorganisms is of profound interest in the medical community. In this study, we have prepared textile materials composed of cotton fabrics and octahedral molybdenum cluster complex, [{Mo6I8}(DMSO)6](NO3)4 (DMSO - dimethyl sulfoxide), with photo -activated antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. These uniformly colored fabrics were prepared via the impregnation of cotton fabrics with solution of dissolved cluster complex. Strong bonding of cluster molecules to cotton provided high stability of the materials with negligible washing out during the washing with a laundry detergent. The obtained fabrics produced singlet oxygen at the surface upon light irradiation, and the production persisted after repeated irradiation cycles. The fabrics showed photoinduced antipathogenic activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), and influenza B viruses.