Among the numerous technologies employed to remove microorganisms from indoor environments, the use of filters in air circulation units is considered to be most efficient. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter remove by trapping airborne microorganisms, but this presents a risk as microorganisms can remain viable on the filter and proliferate under ideal environmental conditions. They can become source of recontamination and gaseous emissions. This can lead to filter degradation, lowering its efficiency and also paving the way for microbial penetration. In this work, a coating material was developed based on iodine containing polymers assembled into a colloidal shell that can rapidly inhibit the growth of microorganisms on the filter material. Direct inoculation of select test organisms shows that these filters exhibit contact-killing and release-killing properties, that inactivate a broad spectrum of microorganisms at a short contact time. The coated filters can achieve more than 2 log (≥99%) reduction in viable bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and spores (Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum) compared to uncoated filters.

Design and formulation of an iodine-based antimicrobial coating for sporicidal and bactericidal activities

2019 Fall National Meeting

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