Antimicrobial coatings

Bronwyn Eves <beves [at] museum__state__il__us> writes

>Does anyone have experience with the application of antimicrobial
>coatings within their museum?  The commercially applied product is
>sprayed onto touch panels, railings, and other publicly accessible
>surfaces to "protect against germs/microorganisms...". The MSDS
>sheet lists titanium dioxide, zinc metal, and silicone dioxide as
>the ingredients.  Because the material is spray-applied, I'm
>concerned about deposition on nearby artifacts.

I have undertaken extensive research on these materials. Although it
is 'technically' correct to say that these materials have
antimicrobiological properties, in reality they are not suitable for
this purpose. Under laboratory conditions, all the coatings we
tested did show some antimicrobilogical activity, but it's slow.
They take hours to work. In a real life situation you need quick
kill. These products are for the more gullible domestic market.

Colin Smith
Colin Smith Conservation Ltd.
+44 1444 400481
Mobile: +44 7777672250
Alternate email address: colininnovation<-a t->googlemail< . >com.
Please copy all emails to this address


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:28
                 Distributed: Sunday, December 11, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-28-007
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