Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
Your industry news - first
The original and best - for over 20 years!
We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
New antimicrobial coating treatment kills & protects against coronaviruses and other harmful germs for up to a year.
Biotech and microbial control company, Zonitise, has launched an antimicrobial surface treatment proven to kill harmful bacteria and viruses including TGEV coronavirus - the model virus for SARS COV 2, for up to 12 months after one application.
Nano technology is used to bond quaternary ammonium within the coating, which kills harmful bacteria and microorganisms to ensure hospital grade cleanliness on surfaces and touch points that are treated.
The treatment is warranted for up to one year after a single application, ensuring long-term protection. London City Airport was one of the first establishments to adopt the treatment shortly after the pandemic, and is still achieving the same level of hygiene as a sterile operating theatre nearly six months after implementation.
The non-toxic and non-mutagenic two-part specialist coating is applied professionally by qualified technicians to provide always-on, 24/7 protection on 100% of the surfaces within a treated area. This coating not only disinfects surfaces, but also coats them with an invisible layer of antimicrobial sealant, which constantly eliminates and inhibits the growth of any harmful microorganisms that come into contact with it for up to 12 months.
With 90% of hospital infections transmitted by hands and often more than 2,000 germs per square inch on everyday surfaces, Zonitise's coating aims to prevent the spread of infections by creating safe germ-free spaces that remain constantly self-sanitising all year round between cleaning cycles. Peer reviewed studies in the US have proven that when an antimicrobial coating was implemented in an intensive care hospital environment, hospital acquired infections decreased by 30%.
As an added benefit, the self-disinfecting coating also prevents mould or fungi growth and eliminates bacteria that cause unpleasant odours.
In recent months large companies and institutions have spent millions on additional cleaning to ensure premises are Covid-19 secure. The problem the world faces is that contamination risk in public spaces is continuous, but conventional cleaning and sanitising is only effective for a moment in time. Zonitise Antimicrobial coatings ensure that surfaces stay hygienic between cleaning cycles resulting in a far more cost-effective approach to reducing the likelihood of cross contamination, with companies who implement it being able to safely return to pre-pandemic cleaning routines. Once applied, Zonitise removes the need for toxic disinfecting chemicals, odour masking and monthly fogging, while also reducing the unsustainable drain on labour and funds of hiring cleaners multiple times a day.
The antimicrobial treatment can be applied across a range of professional environments including the travel industry, leisure and hospitality, education facilities, care facilities, offices and retail stores.
Zonitise will also be launching a consumer range very soon, of patented self-apply antimicrobial products for surface, skin and laundry, that can be used both personally within homes and vehicles, and commercially across all sectors to ensure long lasting protection from harmful bacteria and viruses.
"We have been pleased to be able to assist many institutions and businesses across the UK with our specialist antimicrobial treatments at a time when we have never been so aware of the need of protection from germs and viruses,” says Edward Tennent, sales director at Zonitise.
“As well as being proven to massively reduce the spread of infection, the treatment also provides protection against micro-scratches and helps reduce damage to surfaces so it is a real win-win scenario.
"Aside from helping to reduce the spread of infection, it has also been good to see people become increasingly aware of how long germs can remain active on everyday surfaces, and how easily they can be spread from person to person.
"Many institutions are spending a fortune on additional cleaning to comply with Covid-19 guidance, but because disinfectants are only momentary in their effectiveness, there are many hours every day when a shared surface is just a vector for cross contamination.
“Zonitise antimicrobial coating changes that completely - meaning that surfaces stay self sanitising between cleaning cycles. It's really a gift of science and thankfully it's not come a moment too soon.
"While we still encourage people to sanitise their hands regularly, wear a mask, and keep their distance, our antimicrobial coatings help facilities to take hygiene to new heights by constantly working to eliminate microorganisms."
Zonitise's antimicrobial coating is made up of quaternary ammonium (recognised by the WHO for its efficacy against bacteria and viruses) and other actives, and mixed with nano technology to hinder the growth of pathogens through cellular membrane perturbation.
The active ingredient in the Zonitise antimicrobial forms a colourless, odourless, positively charged polymer which chemically bonds to the surface it is applied to. These electrically charged polymers then attract the negatively charged cells of microbes, puncturing the cell membrane before the electrical charge shocks and kills the cell. The antimicrobial does not lose strength as this happens and will be continuously ready to kill the bacteria cells it comes into contact with.
To ensure efficiency, normal cleaning of treated surfaces is still necessary to prevent the build-up of dirt and dead microbes. This cleaning can be as simple as soap and hot water. The coating has been tested to withstand in excess of 6,000 cleaning cycles and still be effective at eliminating harmful pathogens.
Technicians regularly monitor surface bio loading with ATP testing as part of the warranty. ATP testing is a process of rapidly measuring actively growing microorganisms through detection of adenosine triphosphate. ATP hygiene monitoring provides accurate, repeatable and reliable results.
Following the outbreak of the pandemic, Zonitise applied its one year warranted antimicrobial coating on surfaces and touchpoints throughout the whole of London City Airport to minimise the risk of any cross contamination for passengers and staff.
As part of its service, Zonitise performs regular checks and six months after applying the coating, Zonitise technicians were pleased to report that London City Airport's check-in desks and screens were reporting hygiene levels to the same standard as a sterile operating theatre. The airport's handrails, lift buttons and security trays were also all at hospital grade clean levels.
26th November 2020