Microban International Announces Breakthrough in Antimicrobial Technologies for Medical Devices

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Dec 16, 2010, 12:00 ET

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI's) are a serious health threat associated with over 100,000 deaths each year. These secondary infections following surgery are a major contributor to increased healthcare costs; experts estimate they add in excess of $20 billion.

Microban International is leveraging its expertise in antimicrobial technologies for polymers to look for synergistic effects to help medical device manufacturers address bacterial contamination of medical devices commonly associated with HAI's. "Our experience with a broad range of antimicrobial technologies and materials puts us in a unique position to be able to help medical device manufacturers get to market more quickly with more effective technologies," said Dr. Ivan Ong, VP of Research and Development for Microban International.

The company has recently made significant advances in the development of antimicrobial solutions for acetal (POM), a material commonly used in catheter tubing and connector components which can be a source of HAI's. Acetals are prone to processing issues with many additives, causing chemical degradation and formaldehyde off-gassing in the final product. A new antimicrobial solution has been developed that is compatible with acetal and causes no destabilization or formaldehyde generation. Our findings show effective performance with greater than 4 log reductions against a wide variety of organisms using our standard, enhanced and human-serum based testing protocols. "This new work is a significant step forward and will help medical device manufacturers to offer an antimicrobial solution that is more robust and provides more consistent antimicrobial performance," said Dr. Ong.

Microban provides comprehensive development support and project management including engineering services, on-site microbiology, analytical efficacy testing and regulatory guidance. For more information please visit http://www.microban.com/microban-medical.

Contact: Cady Warner, (704) 875-0806

SOURCE Microban International