Development of broad-spectrum antimicrobial latex paint surfaces employing active amphiphilic compounds.

With the increase in antibiotic-resistant microbes, the production of self-decontaminating surfaces has become an area of research that has seen a surge of interest in recent years. Such surfaces, when incorporated into commercial products such as children's toys, medical devices and hospital surfaces could reduce the number of infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms. A number of active components for self-decontaminating surfaces have been investigated, including common antibiotics, metal ions, quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), and antimicrobial peptides (AMP). A recent research focus has been development of a wide range of amphiphilic antimicrobial additives that when combined with modern low volatile organic compound (VOC), water-based paints leads to a surface concentration of the active compounds as the coating cures. Herein we report the development of antimicrobial coatings containing a variety of additives, both QAS and AMP that are active against a broad-spectrum of potentially pathogenic bacteria (1-7 log kill), as well as enveloped viruses (2-7 log kill) and fungi (1-2 log kill). Additionally, these additives were compatible with water-dispersed acrylate coatings (latex paint) which have a broad range of real world applicability, and remained active for multiple challenges and when exposed to various cleaning scenarios in which they might encounter in real world situations.