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What you ought to know about antimicrobial lacquers

Why less is sometimes more.

Requests for antimicrobial lacquer systems regularly increase in times of increased infection incidence, such as now during the coronavirus crisis.

Eager entrepreneurs are trying to use the crisis to their advantage. That can also be a good thing and distinguishes good entrepreneurs. It may even be expedient for society.

At this point, however, some very different interests collide. In addition to entrepreneurial interests, there are also interests that serve the general public. Hesse sees itself as a company that operates responsibly, sustainably and competently in the market. This includes protecting people's health to the best of our ability and refraining from avoidable discharges of chemicals into the environment. The suppliers of antimicrobial products will, of course, cite precisely the protection of humans as an argument. We consider this to be frivolous, and possibly even harmful.

Our discussions with enquirers suggest to us that there is often a major need for clarification of the basics.

So we’d like to provide a brief definition of the term at this point. In the case of antimicrobial products, this involves distinguishing between solutions that have an antibacterial effect and those that have an antiviral effect. Most enquiries currently relate to antibacterial products. Products equipped in this way are in fact only effective against bacteria and not against viruses. Why does this difference matter? Because the effective mechanisms are different. Bacteria have their own metabolism and can multiply outside a host body. A colony of bacteria can therefore increase given a suitable source of nutrient on a surface (such as body fluids). Viruses don’t have their own metabolism, so they can’t reproduce on surfaces. They depend on having a host organism within which they can reproduce.

Using antibacterial products to combat the coronavirus is therefore pointless.

The use of antibacterial products in the customary areas of application for our products, such as on interior doors, flooring, furniture and other fittings, is unnecessary for several reasons and at best offers the consumer a false sense of security. Many tests relating to the issue of formulating our products with antibacterial properties indicate to us that our products demonstrate the same behaviour regarding bacterial growth both with and without such formulation. Lacquered surfaces generally exhibit antibacterial properties. This has been confirmed by an independent external test centre. It’s due to the fact that, compared to textiles for example, the surfaces involved are usually smooth and highly cross-linked. Figuratively speaking, the bacteria dry out on this type of surface before they can massively multiply. There can of course be major contamination on surfaces that could potentially pose a hazard. At this point, however, even the antibacterial coating would fail.

And here is one of the dangers of declaring such surfaces to be antibacterial.

Care and hygiene regulations must be observed just as carefully in these cases. The false sense of security could result in negligence in adverse circumstances. “Why bother with disinfection or cleaning? The surface is already formulated to be antibacterial”, could be some people’s thinking. Nanoscale silver is often used in such products. What happens to that after the object has been discarded? It ultimately ends up in the environment and can even have the impact there that it is intended to have on the surface. In other words it kills bacteria. Unfortunately it can’t differentiate between “good” and “bad” bacteria. Yet bacteria are of utmost importance for all life and fulfil tasks that are essential for survival.

Almost 2 kg of our body weight consists of bacteria. Stainless steel surfaces possess antibacterial properties even without the effect being due to the discharge of chemical components, as is the case with silver or copper surfaces. The antibacterial properties are attributed to the smooth surface structure. Comparative inspection under an electron microscope of a stainless steel surface (image 1 on the left) and a lacquered surface (image 2 on the right) reveals very smooth surfaces in both cases. You can find the images in the picture gallery at the end of this post. (The image at the beginning of this post shows Escherichia coli bacteria.)

So the products that could be in demand in the current wave of the coronavirus would be antiviral products.

The proof of efficacy in this case is already much more difficult than with bacteria. The experts don’t even currently agree on how long a coronavirus remains potentially hazardous on a surface. Fragments of viral genetic material can be found for a relatively long time, but it’s difficult to say whether this poses a risk. Their lifespan outside their host is usually very limited. There are moreover very many types of viruses, and whether a chemical works effectively to combat the virus at hand is unknown. Not even the manufacturers of these antiviral additives will provide a guarantee. There is to date very little evidence for some specific viruses. When it comes to statements about the coronavirus, the tendency is to say: “It works against virus X, so it could also work against Y”. The lack of a vaccine against the current strain of coronavirus shows that the viruses cannot be considered the same even when they are similar. There is a flu vaccination, but not yet a coronavirus vaccination. We do of course hope that the announced vaccine will be able to start its triumphant march in 2021.

What is known, however, is that regular cleaning can combat viruses.

This especially includes regular washing of our hands and the regular cleaning of surfaces. The usual disinfectants can naturally also be used here.

That’s why we want to help prevent people from being lulled into a false sense of security and continuing to pollute the environment with questionable substances. This is what we understand under responsible and sustainable action.