Next-Generation Antimicrobial Additives for Reactive Surface Coatings
There are more than 5,000 antimicrobial products, based on approximately 275 different active ingredients, currently registered and available in the U.S. marketplace. These antimicrobial pesticides are almost always organic chemicals and act by killing (biocidal) or inactivating microbes (biostatic). Antimicrobial pesticides have a wide array of applications in both public health-related products, for the control of those organisms infectious to humans, and products other than those related to public health, such as preserving agents in coatings, metal working fluids and wood supports.
Overlapping with the antimicrobial category are those materials that are considered biopesticides and are natural materials such as plant products (e.g., canola oil), bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas fluorescens A506) and certain minerals/metals (e.g., sulfur or silver). By the end of 2005, there were approximately 232 active ingredients and 1057 products registered as biopesticides by the EPA. Generally considered safer to humans and the environment than conventional pesticides, the perceived advantages associated with biopesticides typically include a narrow target range, limited environmental persistence and a specific mode of action. While these characteristics may limit the risk of unintended consequences to either humans or the environment, they may also require either multiple applications, higher initial concentrations/doses or the use of multiple pesticides to achieve the desired degree of protection. The economic impact of efforts to control microbial pests is approximately one billion dollars each year1 (as measured in dollars spent on antimicrobial pesticides).