Microbial inhibition on hospital garments treated with Dow Corning 5700 antimicrobial agent.

We evaluated the efficacy of the antimicrobial activity of cotton-polyester fabric treated with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride (DC 5700), a quaternary ammonium compound bound irreversibly to the material. Significant antimicrobial activity was observed with 58 of 61 gram-positive cocci but with only 1 of 35 gram-negative bacilli and 0 of 5 yeasts. No inhibition of bacilli or yeasts was observed when the DC 5700 concentration ranged from 0.05 to 1.0% or when antimicrobial activity was assayed by the agar overlay bioassay or broth agitation methods.