Uncover the true potential of antimicrobial technology to elevate your products

From cutting boards, packaging, keyboards to shopping bags, not a day goes by that we do not encounter a plastic material. However, polymers, both commodity and high performance, are highly susceptible to microbial attacks. Microbes such as bacteria and fungi are known to be able to extract nutrients from polymers, which leads to often irreversible product damage. Microbes are also known to stain products and cause foul odours which in turn ruins their aesthetics as well as their performance.

It is important to act against the growth of microbes on surfaces to minimise the risk of early product deterioration and unnecessary maintenance expenditures, as certain microbes can double in number as quickly as every 20 minutes. Think about the last time you disinfected your phone case: if you missed one microbe, how many more could there be by the time you clean it again? This is where BioCote® comes into play.

Specialising in silver ion antimicrobial technology, BioCote® is easily incorporated into any product at a stage of manufacture, and remains within that product throughout its lifetime. Using one of the world’s oldest antimicrobials, BioCote® silver ion technology works in 4 ways:

• damages the DNA of microbes which prevents cell replication,
• causes an increase of reactive oxygen species within a cell,
• triggers damage to essential cell proteins, inhibiting its functions,
• causes cell membrane damage which leads to the inability of a cell to regulate what goes in and out.

These methods make silver ions an effective antimicrobial; just a small amount is required to have a significant impact. Working without an off switch, BioCote® technology has achieved an 86% reduction in microbes in only 15 minutes and a 99.99% reduction in 24 hours. The technology has been proven effective against a multitude of microorganisms that exist in a wide array of environments your product is likely to face such as MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Klebsiella, Listeria or Legionella, to name a few.

BioCote® silver technology is non-leaching, non-toxic, and has been proven to perform continuously for up to 25 years from the day it is introduced to a product. Unlike short-lived cleaning chemicals, BioCote® technology never washes off, wears away nor does it need to be reapplied.

At BioCote®, our partners and clients have come to rely on the high quality and performance of our additives to deliver the finest antimicrobial feature to their product range. Safe for use in products that come in contact with food, BioCote® has achieved FDA and EFSA approval, as well as being the world’s first and only HACCP accredited antimicrobial supplier.

Working with an independent microbiology laboratory to test the effectiveness of its additives according to industry standardised tests, BioCote® makes sure that every product released to the market performs as promised. While no official pass level is in place, BioCote® hold their standards incredible high, only validating products that achieve over 95% reduction, higher than most, if not all, antimicrobial providers. Having operated in the antimicrobial industry for over 26 years now, BioCote® consistently monitor changes to the regulatory landscape, ensuring we offer relevant, up to date and compliant guidance on marketing of our partners’ antimicrobial products.