Silver-Based Coating Reduces Microbial Contamination of Lab Equipment

Technological advances in the manufacture of materials and coatings allow inorganic silver ions to be incorporated into laboratory instruments at the time of manufacture. Silver is an active antimicrobial against a wide range of bacteria and fungi.

Silver ions disrupt the microbial cell membrane function and cause denaturing of vital enzymes within the cell, leading to rapid cell death. It is thought that silver prevents bonds between the two strands of the double-stranded helix from separating, thereby causing the inhibition of transcription and DNA replication. The silver ions are slowly released from an inorganic matrix via an ion exchange mechanism, maintaining an effective concentration on or near the surface of the material. Active throughout the useful life of each instrument, the coating kills a wide range of bacteria and fungi, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, Legionella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aspergillus niger.

A two-month environmental study carried out in a lab at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham, UK) demonstrated that silver-based BioCote antimicrobial protection, an integral feature of all Stuart benchtop laboratory equipment, reduces bacterial contamination of instrument surfaces by almost 100%. The Stuart range of benchtop equipment comprises over 100 products including block heaters, blood tube rotators, shakers, stirrers, and water baths

Bacterial surface contamination of six BioCote-treated Stuart instruments, such as hotplate stirrers and a mixer, was compared with untreated instruments in the same laboratory. All items included in the study had been in routine use for around 18 months. Swabs from touchpads, switches, casings etc. were collected fortnightly for two months and Total Viable Counts (TVC) were obtained after inoculation and incubation of plate count agar. There was a mean reduction in excess of 96 % in the TVC of bacteria contaminating the BioCote-treated equipment, compared with untreated control items in the same environment.

Rob Skehens, marketing director, Bibby Scientific (Stone, UK) commented, 'This important study suggests that BioCote antimicrobial protection has a vital role to play, complementing established GLP [good laboratory practice] and GMP [good microbiology practice] protocols, in ensuring that laboratory environments comply with the highest health and safety standards. While surface disinfection in the laboratory will always be essential, permanent antimicrobial surfaces of instruments represent a powerful weapon against the hazards of lab-acquired infection and contamination of precious experimental or test samples. This is particularly true for surfaces subjected to physical contact with reagents, or repeated hand contact by multiple users.

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University of Birmingham