Antimicrobial Materials

Infections that occur as a result of a stay or treatment at a hospital (so-called nosocomial infections) pose a serious threat to patients.

The problem of bio-film formation affects medical devices as well as products used within the body from drainage tubing to pace makers.

To avoid the formation of biofilm, the formation of bacteria colonies on the device’s surface must be prevented.

Therefore it makes sense to integrate antimicrobial properties into medical products either by mixing antibiotics into the materials or by providing the product with a microbe-reducing coating.

The progressively occurring resistance against antibiotics and the increased occurrence of multi-resistant microbes such as MRSA has brought the utilisation of silver compounds back into the medical focus.

The antimicrobial effects of silver have been known for centuries and are based on the interaction of the released silver ions with specific attack structures of the microbes.

Silver is characterised by a broad efficiency range and influences various bacterial microbes and yeasts. An increasing resistance has so far not been observed.

We have more than 60 years of experience in formulations and processing of polymers for medical products. Based on this experience we develop material formulations with silver compounds specifically customised for a particular application in order to achieve the desired antimicrobial effect.