Antimicrobial Coatings

Antimicrobial and antifouling Coatings for different types of surfaces and materials

Issue: Microbiological contamination is a general problem that not only affects the health or food sectors, but also environments subject to a considerable flow of people, such as public offices, schools and means of transport. If not controlled, bacteria, viruses and microorganisms can lead to the proliferation and spread of diseases and to material damage. 

State of the Art: In the last decade, scientific research has led to the development of numerous types of antimicrobial materials to reduce the impact of microbial contamination. Bacterial contamination can affect various fields related to everyday life, such as the textile, health and food sectors. Scientific research is therefore essential to solve problems both on an industrial level and in daily life. Today the main antimicrobials used act by releasing the antimicrobial agent into the environment when they come into contact with bacteria. Over the time this mechanism causes the loss of efficacy of the treatments and it generates problems related to environmental sustainability, consumer safety and the potential resistance of bacteria to the antimicrobial agent used.
 

Solution: Crossing has created an antimicrobial and antifouling coating through a simple procedure capable of not releasing the antimicrobial agent and harmful substances into the environment. Crossing has internally developed both the type of antimicrobial agents and their formulation for non-release applications. Our formulation can be applied to different types of materials and we have shown that it doesn’t modify the technical characteristics and colors of the treated products. Being completely transparent, luminescent molecules were inserted into the coating to verify the presence of the treatment in different conditions of use. In addition, the materials were subjected to release tests in food simulant fluids, resistance tests to industrial washing cycles (high temperature and pressure with basic agents) and aging tests under UV-VIS lights, highlighting the maintenance of the antimicrobial characteristics throughout all the life cycle of the tested materials.