MyMicrobiome Standard 44.10 - Nasal Microbiome

The nasal microbiome fulfills important tasks for our health, such as filtering, warming and moistening the inhaled air and has the function of detecting pathogenic germs.

Textiles/fabrics should also leave this area untouched as best as possible. Therefore, we test handkerchiefs, for example, as they come into contact with the nasal mucosa and thus our microbiome.

In the medical field, we certify nasal tamponades or nasal pins that stop bleeding.

The typical key bacteria found in the nose are:

Moraxella catarrhalis

Staphylococcus epidermidis

Propionibacterium acnes

Corynebacterium striatum

The test procedure for Standard 44.10 nasal microbiome

The textile product undergoes four test phases as part of the "Microbiome-friendly" certification.

1. Washing and Sterilization

All textiles are washed in our laboratory according to a standardized procedure and then steam sterilized (autoclaved).
Hygienic products will be sterilized by means of UV light.

2. Balance test

The balance between the commensal bacteria S. epidermidis and the harmful bacteria S. aureus should not be disturbed by the nasal textile product. A co-culture consisting of both germs is mixed with the product for a certain period of time and then the ratio of the two microbes is compared to an untreated control group. Under the influence of the textile product, this must not shift in favor of S. aureus.

3. Diversity test

In this step, we cultivate the key microbes common to the nose. For the 44.10 standard, these are Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Propionibacterium acnes, Corynebacterium striatum.

A co-culture of all germs is mixed with the product to be tested and the change in diversity is compared with the untreated control group. The diversity of the nasal microbiome must be preserved with regard to the most important key microbes.

4. Vitality test

A Microbiome-friendly textile product for the nose should not only preserve diversity, but it should also not prove detrimental to the growth of microbes. The test simulates skin contact using a model. Each key microbe is brought into direct contact with the product. This is followed by an additional run during which the microbe is covered with an agar layer and the textile product to be tested is applied to it. This process simulates the potential penetration of the product into deeper mucosal layers. The microbial growth of the two batches is compared with the untreated control group, and the growth must not be significantly inhibited.