BioCote talks antimicrobial polymers

BioCote explains the need for antimicrobial polymers in a healthcare environment

Objects and surfaces within the hospital environment are known to harbour pathogenic bacteria or other microbes for extended periods of time - the long term persistence of bacteria is a well understood problem.

Bacteria such as Enterococcus spp. (including VRE another multi drug resistant pathogen Staphylococcus aureus - including MRSA) are evidenced to survive for many months on hard surfaces.

Gram negative species such as Actinobacteria, E.coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Klebsiella spp. are also reported to survive for extended periods.

A recent study conducted over a two year period showed equipment in three different wards displayed contamination levels of between 22% and 38%. More than 50% of the equipment sampled was highly contaminated, with P. aeruginosa repeatedly isolated from sinks, from the taps’ biofilm, and from the showers and bedside tables.

Effective cleaning and disinfection as well as patient and staff awareness of infection control measures remains the primary method of action for control of environmental contamination.

Working alongside these measures, integrated antimicrobial protection can provide an additional defence against the effects of contamination of items and surfaces both within the hospital environment and in any hygiene sensitive location generally.

We can help product manufacturers develop an antimicrobial product by working with them to create a high performing antimicrobial product ready to take to market.

The first stage in validating any associated claims for an antimicrobial product is having material which performs well in laboratory-based tests. Although these analysis requirements have stringent conditions and procedures by which the tested material and organisms are subjected, the question of how treated materials may perform in the ‘real world’ is a common one.

The company has published a series of case studies which address the concern of how antimicrobial surfaces behave in environments including, but not exclusive to, healthcare.

A peer reviewed study, published in the Journal of Infection Prevention demonstrated a 95.8% reduction in bacteria between two wards, where ‘ward A’ contained BioCote treated products and ‘Ward B’ contained non treated products.

BioCote have also performed a similar study in a care home, demonstrating a 94.8% reduction in total microorganism counts when comparing a unit with and without BioCote treated products.

BioCote has also demonstrated antiviral performance of treated surfaces, proving the ability of BioCote technology incorporated into a variety of substrates such as polycarbonate and ABS to deactivate the Influenza H1N1 virus by up to 99.99%.

A further study demonstrates visually, via epifluorescence microscopy and molecular dyes, the ability of BioCote’s antimicrobial technology to inhibit biofilm formation of treated plastic.