How was the efficacy of the antimicrobial treatment tested?
The antimicrobial effect of the material was evaluated according to ASTM standard E2180. The standard describes a test method to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of agents incorporated or bound into or onto mainly flat hydrophobic or polymeric surfaces. The test organisms used were two different bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), a yeast (Candida albicans) and conidiospores of a fungus (Aspergillus niger). These results showed that the antimicrobial material results in a significant reduction of microorganisms, demonstrating the efficacy of the antimicrobial polymer.
