In the business of medicine and food production, one of the worst fears anyone could have is contamination. Cross-contamination between tools, contamination through unwanted exposure of sterile tools, and other forms of contamination can ruin batches of product, introduce disease into a patient, and be the culprit for all manner of unpleasantries.
However, with the rapid growth of the antimicrobial coating industry as per CMM Online, antimicrobial coatings from businesses like N2Bio are no longer just applicable under certain niche industries with high safety standards, but across the board in hospital maintenance, construction, HVAC vents and other forms of air control, and a large assortment, of textile businesses, to the point that antimicrobial-based coatings themselves make up a billion-dollar industry.
How do they work? Why are they useful over other options? And what are their pros and cons? These are some questions we aim to answer right now.
How Are They Used?
Antimicrobial coats require the use of specialized sputtering machinery to distribute evenly a thin film of microbe-resistant metal, and this technology is typically used on door handles, counters, textiles, building materials, and specific medical tools ranging from scalpels to clamps and other things.
What Makes Them Useful?
Used primarily in hospitals and medical facilities, these specialized coatings help drastically reduce the risk of material contamination and pathogen spread. Hospitals are ironically among the leading causes of major infections – dealing with that requires the use of special methods far beyond regular cleaning, which is where these coating solutions come into play.
Pros and Cons?
The undeniable pros of coatings is that they are, for all intents and purposes, essentially permanent. They reduce the environmental impact that medical facilities have on the world through eliminating the need for a lot of cleaning supplies and medical waste, and they help reduce the spread of pathogens, thereby preventing sickness growth.
They can also be a somewhat costly process, marked by the need for specialized mechanical coating. However, with the help of the right coating process provider, it’ll be well worth the investment.