Antimicrobial additives

Antibacterial additives

Constant exposure to bacteria is a reality that must be controlled. Pathogenic microorganisms are present in many environments and objects we use daily such as surfaces, textiles, trays, etc. but care and prevention are easier than it may seem.

Laboratorios Argenol (Argenol laboratories) offers a portfolio of antimicrobial solutions through its antibacterial additives inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi when these are incorporated into different types of products or final materials such as textiles, polymers, ceramics, filters, foams, paints and many others.

Antibacterial additives are compounds that have the ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria and are increasingly becoming a new way of ensuring the prevention of bacterial contamination.

Description of antibacterial additives

Antibacterial additives can be classified into two types depending on the action they exercise over bacteria, i.e. bactericides and bacteriostatics. Bactericides are those that remove bacteria, while bacteriostatic antibacterials prevent their growth.

Antibacterial additives can act in different ways on bacteria, on the cell wall to prevent it from growing, on the cell membrane to make it permeable and to allow access inside, on the bacteria’s DNA to damage its structure or on ribosomes to prevent it from being able to synthesise the proteins that keep them alive.

Antibacterial additives can be organic or inorganic compounds. Laboratorios Argenol manufactures inorganic active raw materials based on silver or copper, providing longer-term antimicrobial features. Compared to organic antimicrobials, such as bleaches or alcohols, they last longer and provide antimicrobial efficacy for longer.

Laboratorios Argenol has proprietary technology whereby silver is released more slowly, obtaining positive results against bacteria in the long term.

Trials carried out with the products manufactured by Laboratorios Argenol allow us to prove that after adding a small concentration of antibacterial additives, the bacteria population is drastically reduced in a compound with an antibacterial additive compared to one without the additive.

In addition, silver-based antimicrobial additives act against a wide range of fungal bacteria and even viruses.

They can be easily added in the manufacturing process of the different materials, providing antibacterial features to the final material.

The result is a more hygienic environment, allowing the non-proliferation of microbes and therefore the reduction of allergies and infections.