This recent article has some careful measurements confirming many of the things we already know about building robust connectivity into e-textiles: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5419786/ They explore the use of TPU and Silicone (NB: they annoyingly misspell Silicone in many places as “silicon”).…
Durability
Neoprene
Here is a source of antimicrobial neoprene: http://www.warco.com/sheet-rubber/neoprene/anti-microbial-neoprene/ Although there have been many announced attempts to replace neoprene in recent years, the only active ones I can find which are latex based are Yulex from the US and NaturalPrene TM…