Biocides, antimicrobials, fungicides, bactericides. What a maze of terms.
All of these descriptions - some scientific, some regulatory, and some lay terms - all used to express the property of chemicals or devices to control various microorganisms. Confusing? Sometimes, yes! Sometimes, maybe. But always complex!
This brief document is intended to provide the reader with background information on the antimicrobial used as a keystone in the ĘGIS Microbe Shield Program.
You, the potential user of this technology or other antimicrobials, need the following information to be comfortable with the chemical, physical and biological properties of this technology. the extreme value of this material at providing long-term protection against bacteria, fungi, and algae and their staining, odors, defacement and human health effects is played out in a myriad of medical, consumer and commercial products. Registered with the EPA in 1976 and used commercially since that time, the technology has been reviewed and re-reviewed by hundreds of large and small companies and academics, and experienced by millions of consumers. Table of Contents
Dow Corning Corporation, the largest supplier of silicone and silane chemicals in the world, began a pure research program in the late 1960's aimed at seeing if they could utilize organofunctional silanes as pesticides.
In plain English, they asked, could pesticides now be made that would not migrate into the environment by leaching or volatilizing by tying them to target surfaces with a silane. The outcome would be safer, more efficient, and more effective pesticides.
A tremendous variety of chemicals were made and tested. These included all kinds of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and bactericides. The screening tests included standard ASTM protocols, other standard tests, and a variety of toxicological and environmental impact reviews. Out of this work came several patents and a focused effort on a particularly promising group of antimicrobials. This brought the most promising of materials into the commercialization stages of Dow Corning's staging system.
Because of the tremendous expense of staging a material for commercialization, especially one with EPA regulatory oversight, careful consideration is given each step. Passing the Dow Corning internal performance, safety and utlity screens is often more difficult than dealing with regulatory agencies or with customers. By 1974, Dow Corning was moving aggressively toward full EPA registration and commercialization.
Important in this time frame was the publication of several technical papers in both chemical and microbiological technical journals. The significance of these publications is that noted scientists in these respected disciplines reviewed the work, recognizing the merit of this new and unique discovery and allowed such publications to be printed as scientific fact. Scientific publication with "peer review" is the beginning of a checks and balance system that the scientific community uses to sort out verifiable discoveries from casual observances. Subsequent to these original publications, ten additional peer reviewed papers and chapters to books have been scientifically "peer reviewed" and published.
The quality of the data and the uniqueness of the discovery was such that Dow Corning was granted Industrial Research magazine's prestigious IR-100 Award. Submissions for this award are scrutinized by scientific review boards. Only one other antimicrobial has ever received this award; Mr. W. Curtis White, now Chairman and CEO of ĘGIS Environmental Management, Inc., was the technical manager for the commercialization of that other IR-100 Award winner, a recirculating water slimicide for Dow Chemical Company.
Commercialization of Dow Corning technology began in 1976 after receiving EPA registration under what are called "modern" standards of review. Years of research by Burlington Industries, outside laboratories, and Dow Corning verified the safety and utility of using this technology on direct human contact goods such as socks. Burlington's Bioguard brand socks revolutionized the marketing of that product.
Parallel to this project, American Hospital Supply Corporation (now part of Baxter International) was reviewing the use of antimicrobials on surgical drapes and other medical non-woven products. The stringent rules governing the use of any particulates or chemicals that could enter the body via a wound, etc. made this review protocol very severe. Every available antimicrobial, medical and industrial, was screened for basic toxicity, effectiveness against the types of microorganisms encountered in surgery and compatibility with the variety of physical, chemical, and biological contaminants found on fabrics and in wounds, but most importantly, the agents durability to leaching. The consequences of contamination into a wound area are profound; formation of granules, granulosis, fibrin clots, and coagulation, into blood stream can cause clogging of critical blood vessels resulting in death. This work eliminated all other antimicrobials except what is known today as the ĘGIS Antimicrobial. American Hospital Supply Corporation, outside university laboratories, private laboratories and Dow Corning contributed over thirty (30) studies verifying the safety and performance of this technolgy in medical use. FDA listings were obtained and ISO-BAC Medical Nonwovens were introduced to the market in 1979 and are still being manufactured today. A publication on this work is available.
The success of the sock program at Burlington Industries led to a review of other potential applications and carpeting became a major target area of commercial consideration. To provide durability, hence safety and long-term performance, again the Dow Corning technology was chosen. Numerous real-world in-use durability and performance tests were carried out in hospitals, office buildings and airport terminals. Publications on this work are also available.
Stimulation of the carpet market with durable antimicrobial treatment stirred the interest of the major carpet fiber manufacturers. DuPont, Allied and Monsanto all started research and development programs aimed at producing an antimicrobial carpet fiber. After testing and reviewing all available antimicrobials each of these companies decided to use the Dow Corning technology. Although their use of this feature was short-lived, their technical assessment was unquestionable in its verification of the utility of the Dow Corning, now ĘGIS Antimicrobial over any other technology available.Table of Contents
These historical insights, along with the sales, technical and regulatory support resources of Dow Corning and ĘGIS Environmental Management, should provide complete confidence in the validity of this technology as a valuable feature in a wide variety in commercial and consumer products. It's not defensive to say, "could all of these big, high tech companies be wrong". It is, instead, fully supportive of the value and safety of this technology.
We hope this information is of value to you and your colleagues and can help us all move aggressively toward providing you and your customers with the best technological innovation supported with quality sales and technological services.Table of Contents