Germ of an idea: Pushing the boundaries of antimicrobial technology

Headed up by Michael van der Jag, Parx Plastics is pushing the boundaries with antimicrobial technology. Derived from biomimicry and inspired by nature, it may have particular importance in orthopaedic  procedures.

According to the World Health Organisation Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to global public health. Without effective antibiotics, the success of major surgery would be compromised. When it comes to infections the focus for the next decade will be on prevention, and not on cure.

Parx Plastics sees an important role for their technology in this area. Its antimicrobial technology for plastics and polymers is derived from bio-mimicry. It is a patented biocompatible technology copied from, or inspired by, nature. The technology creates an intrinsic immune system in plastics that makes the surface resistant to biofilm formation and bacteria growth. Independent laboratories confirm that the technology can prevent bacteria proliferation on the surface of the materials by Log4 (99,99%) to Log6 (99,9999).

With a focus on infection prevention it is also wise to closely consider the antimicrobial technology to use. Roughly all of the technologies today rely on a migration principle. They have some active (and often toxic) substance migrating from the surface to act against bacteria. However, these uncontrollable technologies in fact contribute to antibiotic resistance as their functional substances can end up anywhere in the environment of the product creating more places for only the resistant bacteria to survive and proliferate. Taking AMR seriously means you focus on applying the technology only there where you want to use its benefits. You want to perfectly control the functionality only there where it is needed, without overkill.

“This is really where our technology stands out,” explains Michael van der Jagt, CEO of Parx Plastics. “First of all our technology uses a body’s own element and on top of that our technology knows no migration, the performance is inert and intrinsic to the material surface. That means you have a targeted performance only on the surface where you want it and it does not end up elsewhere.”

Van der Jagt envisions that the technology finds great use in high-infection risk applications with permanent implants such as in the orthopaedic field. Or it may be able to change protocols and increase comfort for patience by allowing longer use and lesser changing of a product like catheters. But also the obvious use of the technology for exteriors of devices handled by hospital staff can reduce cross contaminations and outbreaks.

With a strong focus on prevention the Parx technology is likely to be one of significant impact in the coming years. Moving away from toxic substances, using biocompatible elements without migration introduces new and, above all, safe solutions for a wide array of products in the medical sector.

Recently Parx Plastics went public by becoming a listed company on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris and it is looking forward to make more and new steps into the medical applications of their technology.