Preventive Medicine: Antimicrobial Technology Reduces Secondary Infections

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You have a serious illness. The good news is that it was diagnosed early and is treatable. You have just gone through a battery of treatments and your immune system has been compromised. You go to your hospital room and lay down on the bed to sleep. Above your head is a fluorescent bed light that quietly hums while you to sleep. What you don't know is that last week, the light bulb in the bed light burned out and was replaced by the hospital maintenance worker, who had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch. He inadvertently wiped some mayonnaise on the bulb, which is now festering with bacteria. The bacteria are multiplying and spilling out of the light fixture and on to your bed. Unfortunately for you, your pillow is now infected with bacteria, and you are in no position to fight it.

When you wake up, your family is there to see you. You get out of bed by pulling on the side rails on the bed that your children were just hanging on. You go to the bathroom door and open it, move into the bathroom, and hold on to the grab bar for support. When you are finished, you push open the bathroom door and return to your bed. You rub your eyes and eat your lunch, and chat with your family. You feel pretty good.

Unfortunately, chances are you have been infected with any number of secondary microbes that can range from staph, to pink eye, to common cold, any of which can severely complicate your current condition. This entire scenario would have been different if the hospital had taken advantage of the antimicrobial technology that is available to it today. The light fixture, the bed frame, the doorknob, the grab bar, and the bathroom door push plate all should have been coated with active antimicrobial finishes. Real life and death scenarios just like this affect millions of patients each year, and many of those lives could be saved with this technology.

My profession is metal finishing and powder coating. One of the areas I have been concentrating on for the last four years is antimicrobial finishes. I have been working with them and promoting their use for all applications that involve medical products, hospitals, food service, schools and universities, mass transit, and high pedestrian traffic public locations, with little to no success to date. The technology is proven, and the cost is insignificant compared to the standard material used (stainless steel) and the tangential cost of secondary infection. This technology is readily available, and can be applied to practically any metal or MDF product.

For many years, stainless steel has been the material of choice for product requiring a sterile surface. Stainless steel is a low carbon steel alloy that is extremely resistant to corrosion and oxidation. This makes it ideal for applications that require constant cleaning with strong antiseptic cleaners and sterilizing chemicals. Unfortunately, stainless steel has two major drawbacks; it is not actively resistant to bacterial growth, and it is very expensive. Also, a stainless steel grab bar in a bathroom must still be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to kill the bacteria on its surface. If an area is missed, the bacteria remain. Only an active antimicrobial surface can remain free of bacteria indefinitely, and only an antimicrobial coating or component can provide that surface. A less expensive carbon steel that has been powder coated with an antimicrobial material will still hold up to the chemical cleaning, but will cost less and be considerably more effective in reducing the chances of secondary infection.

There are several different types of antimicrobial coatings currently available. Some are based on the natural neutralizing effect silver has on bacteria, which goes back the early use of silverware and silver drinking vessels. Some coatings use aggressive geometry to pierce the bacterial cell membranes. Some manufactured products incorporate chemicals such as chlorine to kill germs and bacteria. The idea is to provide a surface environment that is incompatible with the existence and reproduction of microorganisms, which will remain that way for the life of the product. In most cases, there is a body of evidence to suggest that none of these methods result in a modified or mutated strain of resistant or adaptive organism, and all methods have data promoting their effectiveness.

I understand that organizations like the Gates Foundation, who are fighting the good fight against sickness and disease, are building new facilities to carry them through the next decade. I have to ask, "are they have considered using antimicrobial coatings and materials for their table tops, hand rails, door knobs, push plates, grab bars in bathrooms, elevators, wall plates, etc. to minimize the spread of common illnesses?" Does your organization? Does the government when they build a new airport terminal? A new school? A new hospital wing? Will they spend their money on traditional stainless steel products or will they use the 21^st century technology that is available today?

So, the next time you run your hand along a railing in an airport, or push open a door at a rest stop on the highway, or step on a scale at your doctors office in bare feet, think about who touched it last, and what they might have left for you. And know that if it were coated with an active anti-microbial coating, or was made with antimicrobial materials, you wouldn't have to worry. And if you or someone you know is in the scenario described above, ask yourself how important this technology can be in your life.