Sheets of silk dipped in chlorine have been found to quickly kill off almost all bacteria, including the armoured spores of anthrax and similar microbes.
Some bacterial spores are very tough, able to survive heat, radiation and antibiotics. They are vulnerable to certain chemicals, though, including chlorine compounds. A range of fabrics soaked in these chemicals have been tested and found to be ineffective at killing off the tough spores, but ordinary silk was found to be dramatically more successful.
Read more at American Chemical Society