Abstract
Increased antibiotic resistance in human pathogens leads to the development of new preventive measures. The introduction of antimicrobial materials and surfaces provides an alternative tool for controlling harmful microorganisms. This article is focused on a study regarding the potential role of two new antimicrobial surface coatings in the control of infection spread. The method applied was to compare the antimicrobial activity of BactiBlock®-treated coatings respect to untreated coatings, which were used as control, following international standards. The antibacterial activity of two antimicrobial polymer-based coatings containing silver-based antimicrobial layered silicate additive (BactiBlock® 635 A1 and BactiBlock® 655 A0) was tested according to JIS Z 2801 against S. aureus, MRSA, VRE, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii and E. coli. BactiBlock® 635 A1 also contains 0.25% of zinc pyrithione (ZnP). The antifungal activity was tested according to ISO 846 against A. niger. The two coatings presented a strong antibacterial broad-spectrum activity (R ≥ 2, p<0.01). The coating with ZnP also showed a strong antifungal activity, since no fungi growth was detected on the treated surface after 4 weeks. Nevertheless, these findings support the potential of these polymer-based coatings as a tool that would help to prevent the colonization of inert surfaces by harmful microorganisms and protect patients and consumers who are exposed daily.
Highlights
Antimicrobial materials and surfaces are being increasingly important to control pathogenic microorganisms
The antimicrobial evaluation tests of R4.47 were performed to detect its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each microorganisms included in the study
After analysis of antimicrobial activity of the two provided coatings, results show a very high log reduction (R) values for all the bacteria tested exceeding the values required by the international standard (JIS Z 2801)
Summary
Antimicrobial materials and surfaces are being increasingly important to control pathogenic microorganisms. There are a wide variety of antimicrobial technologies which are being investigated and developed to protect surfaces [1]. A most prominent technology is the incorporation of inorganic antimicrobials - most commonly the silver ion, Ag+ [2]. Silver is a naturally occurring element with great effectiveness at low concentrations and a well-known antimicrobial broad-spectrum, as well as being widely recognized as safe for human contact [3]. The mechanism of action of the ionic silver is related to their interaction with sulfhydryl (thiol) groups. Ionic silver interacts with thiol groups in enzymes and disrupts folic acid synthesis, but it disrupts protein synthesis, inhibits DNA synthesis, disrupts electron transport and interferes with cell wall synthesis [4]. There has been no evidence regarding a hypothetical microbial resistance to silver due to its multi-target antimicrobial action makes it almost impossible for the bacteria to mutate in a way that would lead to resistance [5]
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