Materials Science
Antimicrobial IONPURE expands European market
28th March 2019
Ishizuka Glass Co (Japan) is expanding the market for its antimicrobial agent IONPURE to Europe. The product, which is a silver-based inorganic antimicrobial agent, can be used safely for any application – including plastics, coatings, fibres etc.
Bacteria exist in everyday life, causing contamination, discoloration, odour, performance degradation, and diseases such as food poisoning. Charles P. Gerba, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Arizona, says, “Usually there are about 200 times more faecal bacteria on the average cutting board than on a toilet seat”.1
Antimicrobials offer one of the countermeasures against such harms. There are inorganic and organic antimicrobials; inorganic antimicrobials may provide improved safety and heat resistance as they do not contain any organic volatile components. This is why inorganic antimicrobials are mainly used in the kneading method with plastics.
Due to its antimicrobial property and safety, silver, a typical active content of inorganic antimicrobial, has been widely used in daily life. For example, silver has been the key component in dental amalgam fillings for over one hundred years.2
IONPURE, an inorganic silver-based antimicrobial, is a white powder made of 100% glass.
Silver in IONPURE exists as an ion with the other glass components in the glass structure. Antimicrobial efficacy can be obtained when silver ion is released as glass is gradually dissolved into water.
The antimicrobial properties of IONPURE can be freely designed by changing the glass composition, enabling efficacy to be obtained at a very low dosage. Tests have demonstrated that IONPURE has over 99.9% bacteria reduction rate (see Figure).
IONPURE is applicable to every resin, including thermosetting resins with its heat resistance up to 500℃. It also keeps transparency of PP, PVC, PC, ABS, etc. Furthermore, IONPURE has high safety with following data: acute oral toxicity, primary skin irritation, mutagenicity, and skin sensitization.
Typical applications of IONPURE include plastic-molded products; kitchen goods (e.g. cutting boards, food preserve containers, garbage boxes), toilet seats, stationary, etc. IONPURE is used for coating (e.g. floors and walls of hospitals and food factories, and furniture of offices) and fibres (e.g. garments, socks, masks).
IONPURE is available worldwide with its approvals in the US (EPA and FDA) and EU (BPR and EFSA). Ishizuka has been manufacturing and selling IONPURE worldwide, but is now placing a special focus on expanding its European market.
For further information, visit http://www.ishizuka.co.jp/english/
1 Pritchard C. BBC News Magazine, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20324304.
2 Sim W et al Antimicrobial Silver in Medicinal and Consumer Applications, https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/7/4/93/htm].
