NASTY smells from training shoes can be snuffed out with the help of a new
shoebox-sized deodoriser. It will bathe your trainers in germ-killing wafts of
nitric oxide gas鈥攍eaving delicate feet unscathed when the shoes are next
used.
鈥淭he idea is that you鈥檇 put the trainers in the box and activate it every few
weeks,鈥� says Nigel Benjamin, professor of clinical pharmacology at St
Bartholomew鈥檚 Hospital in London. The box was developed under Benjamin鈥檚
supervision by student Robin Gilbert.
Our skin produces nitric oxide naturally in order to kill bacteria.
鈥淯nfortunately, we don鈥檛 produce enough in trainers,鈥� says Benjamin. So the
researchers had the idea of suffocating the bugs in lethal doses of the gas,
which they generated by dissolving citric acid and sodium nitrite in a pot of
water and sealing it in the box. The two substances react to form nitric oxide,
which floods the chamber.
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With a patent under their belt, the pair are seeking business partners to
commercialise their idea. They say that consumers would buy a box containing a
reaction chamber, plus tablets of the two reagents.
To develop and test the idea, the researchers advertised for smelly trainers.
鈥淲e got around 20 pairs altogether,鈥� says Benjamin
Next, they identified the main bacterial culprits and set about killing them
with nitric oxide. With the help of an 鈥渆lectronic nose鈥�, they showed the box
killed the vilest vapours. 鈥淭he treatment leaves it with a nice,
disinfectant-like smell, rather than the smell of rotting feet,鈥� says
Benjamin.
He doubts whether widespread use of the deodoriser would be a major source of
nitric oxide pollution. 鈥淗ealthy earth produces nitric oxide all the time,鈥� he
says. The major problem may be getting men to use the device. 鈥淟ots of the lads
were quite proud of how smelly their trainers were,鈥� says Gilbert.