Russian nanotech pulls up it socks

13 September, 2008, 11:59

A Russian scientist says he has developed a cure for smelly feet, which involves weaving nanofibres of silver into socks. His small business is one success story of Russia's developing nanotechnology industry, and attempts to promote enterprise using the technology.

The inventor, Vladimir Rudenov, claims that as well as killing unpleasant odours, the socks also cure athlete's foot.

“I used to be a physician. There's a well known fact that silver kills most bacteria, and it's the bacteria that causes smelly feet. So I thought, why not blend nano particals of silver with socks? And it worked!” said Rudenov.

The company now sells the nano-enchanced socks for about $10 dollars. Experts in nano-technology are encouraged by the fact that ventures like Vladimir's are starting to emerge in Russia.

The market for nanotechnology is forecast to reach billions of dollars. And Russia wants to be among its big players.

And while nano-tech materials may help some overcome the problem of smelly feet, others hope it will help them sniff out big deals.