An overview of the options for antimicrobial surfaces in hospitals

An attractive option is to somehow make surfaces antimicrobial to exert a continuous reduction in the level of contamination. A recent review by Prof Hilary Humphreys provides a useful overview of the various approaches to antimicrobial surfaces.⁹ There are several approaches to making a hospital surface ‘antimicrobial’:

• Permanently ‘manufacture in’ an agent with antimicrobial activity (e.g. copper or a chemical).
• Periodically apply an agent with antimicrobial activity (e.g. copper containing liquid agents, or chemical disinfectants with residual activity).
• Physically alter the properties of a surfaces to make it less able to support microbial contamination or easier to clean (e.g. antibiofilm surfaces).

Further to this, Jon Otter has written an informative article about antimicrobial surfaces. The review is published on the Micro Blog.

Posted by Tim Sandle