The interest of self-decontaminating surfaces with biocidal properties
Today, self-decontaminating surface materials appear as relevant solutions in the cleanroom perimeter. The NF S90-700 published in 2019 thus provides reference texts in the field. Several trials have recently been carried out in French clinics.
A summary article on self-decontaminating surfaces: a must-read!
In the merciless fight that the CHRs are waging against the Covid-19, an emergency door may well appear through innovative systems, usually used in industry or hospitals, to purify the air and sanitize surfaces.
The anti-Covid protection system installed by Alain Ducasse at Allard, to filter the ambient air and bring a healthy breath of fresh air to each table of the restaurant, was welcomed by the customers who found it reassuring. In my opinion, certain categories of tourists will need a guarantee of safety to return to the restaurants, especially foreigners,” said Benoît Gillmann, CEO of Bio-UV, whose company has developed several disinfection devices (see box). In the future, certain sectors, particularly the hotel and restaurant industry, will have to adopt more advanced hygiene and disinfection protocols. “The choice of an air purifier depends very much on the use you want to make of it,” notes Jean-Christophe Champion, air quality expert at BioCleanair Assethos.
Among the means deployed, filtration, often used in operating theatres, would however present flaws, according to Jean-Christophe Campion. “Filtration has the advantage of being able to choose which sizes of microparticles should be stopped by the filters. But that’s still capture, we don’t kill viruses. The filters get dirty and when they have to be changed, it is not impossible that they will disperse again. “Ionization decontamination devices also have the disadvantage that they do not remove viruses, but disperse them away from the treated area. The greatest promise would therefore come from UV systems, which would allow undesirable microorganisms to be eliminated with high rates of effectiveness.
Protecting surfaces: coatings that kill
In recent months, the materio.com platform, which references materials with unique properties, has seen a surge in demand for bio-treated coatings, particularly against viruses and bacteria. It is not our role to advise on this or that material,” recalls Quentin Hirsinger, founder of the platform. Our added value lies in sourcing products that present a particular asset that can be used in different contexts. “The decontamination and sanitization of surfaces by processes other than repeated cleaning is one of the challenges of health safety. Metalskin Technologies, a TPE in the Hérault region of France, uses the antiseptic properties of copper in paint.
“Scientists have very recently evaluated the mortality of Covid-19 on certain surfaces, including copper, which is the active ingredient in MetalSkin®. Their study shows that on a copper surface, the virus is eliminated in less than 4 hours compared to 1 to 2 days on stainless steel,” the company reacted. After a long experimental phase, the company now wants to promote the integration of this bactericidal coating in the manufacturing process of industrial companies. The only downside is that the high cost of copper currently prevents the massive deployment of this technology.
This Wednesday, November 18, in the column La pépite, Lorraine Goumot receives Stéphane Penari, founder and president of MetalSkin Technologies SAS. He talked about MetalSkin’s bactericidal paint which is copper-based to eradicate bacteria, microbes, germs and viruses.
Positive in the pandemic: here are 10 amazing innovations related to coronavirus
The coronavirus has changed our habits: social distancing, masking… Measures that are not always easy to observe. Companies are looking to innovate to help us. Contactless” is becoming king, technology is calling you to order and destructive virus protection is flourishing everywhere. Here are 10 amazing innovations that have emerged in the wake of the pandemic.
A copper coating
“MetalSkin® is a coating that can be applied to a wide range of materials and shapes. It is a composite of polymers and a 92% copper alloy. Its application makes it possible to divide the number of bacteria by an average of 3,000 in 1 hour. In addition to destroying 99% of bacteria in 3 minutes, surfaces coated with MetalSkin® kill 99.5% of SARS-CoV-2 in 4 hours for 10 years,” the firm states on its website. In France, many restaurants and hospitals are adding this coating to switches, door handles, faucets and toilet bowls. The system can also be placed on a telephone shell.
MetalSkin® offers antibacterial and anti-virus coating of surfaces
The company located in Balaruc-les-Bains has developed a bactericidal coating formulated with an alloy composed mainly of copper, which can be applied to many everyday objects.
-99.95% in 4 hours : the virucidal activity of the coating designed by MetalSkin® has been tested and validated by the CNRS, within the CEMIPAI laboratory (Centre d’Etudes des Maladies Infectieuses et Pharmacologie Anti-Infectieuses – CNRS unit / University of Montpellier). The founder Stéphane Penari is currently facing a strong development of his company.
If the process seems innovative, this invention was nevertheless born in his grandfather’s farm.
“My grandfather used to tighten a copper wire to prevent mosses from growing on the roof. Several years later, I took up this idea by transforming copper by incorporating binders to make a surface treatment that we will be able to apply in the factories of manufacturers of door handles, faucet switches or any element that we will be able to touch with our hands,” explains Stéphane Penari, founder of MetalSkin®.
In the heart of a health crisis, the MetalSkin® coating “proved that it could inhibit the virus in 3 or 4 hours, compared to an average of 28 hours on conventional surfaces”, explains the director.
While this solution is gradually being developed and adopted by healthcare institutions, the company is preparing the release of new objects already equipped with this coating, and is in the process of recruiting new staff.
“The future looks good for us as we will be bringing new products to market, including computer keyboards, mice, adhesives. I now need to recruit lawyers, sales people, business developers”, explains Stéphane Penari.
To read the entire article (in French), click here !
Are you familiar with MetalSkin® solutions, a contact point coating that divides by 3000 the number of bacteria in 1 hour according to the NF S90-700 standard?
MetalSkin® proves its efficiency to protect the nursing staff (door handles, taps, switches …).
In Seine-et-Marne, Santépole, the association of the Saint Jean l’Ermitage clinic and the Melun hospital, is located. Inaugurated in 2018, Santépole is a major health project to improve the department’s healthcare offer and is based on the complementarity of public and private sector offers on the same site.
The choice of self-decontamination
At Santépole, the technical level and construction quality of the two buildings (which are physically separated by only one corridor) are similar, as are the cleaning and disinfection protocols in place.
However, as soon as it opened, the Saint Jean de l’Ermitage clinic (a doctocare® establishment, the health operator of the DocteGestio® group), wished to equip itself with contact elements complying with the NF S90-700 standard on bactericidal surfaces. To do so, it called upon MetalSkin® technology so that all door handles, handrails, taps and handrails would be covered with the permanent self-decontaminating solution developed by the French company MetalSkin Technologies.
The results compared to Covid-19
During the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, Melun hospital experienced more than twenty cases of contamination among its nursing staff, while the Saint Jean l’Ermitage clinic did not record any.
Doctor Cosson, President of the Saint Jean l’Ermitage clinic, specifies: “This observation must be analyzed with prudence and scientific rigor, but we cannot fail to mention the possible consequence of the use of self-decontaminating contact surfaces in our establishment. »
The proven virucidal properties of MetalSkin® under normal field conditions (according to a study carried out by the CEMIPAI laboratory of the CNRS in Montpellier) had a direct effect. As a reminder, MetalSkin® inhibits 99.5% of the SARS-Cov-2 Coronavirus in 4 hours and the applied solution is effective for 10 years, in a single application and without any particular maintenance.
“The presence of MetalSkin® in the clinic probably contributed to a reduction of the risk of cross-contamination, to the immediate benefit of our nursing staff who were almost exclusively circulating in the facility at that time” added the President of the clinic.
The French MetalSkin® technology is more than ever an obvious and necessary response to the global problem of virus transfer at manual contact points.
“The use of self-decontaminating surfaces on a large scale in a healthcare establishment has therefore just demonstrated its relevance. It is a hope for all public places in general and Healthcare buildings in particular” concludes Stéphane Penari, founder and President of MetalSkin Technologies SAS.
This places MetalSkin® at the top of the hierarchy of self-decontaminating surfaces and represents the new, indisputable, internationally patented quality standard. It is the future of hygiene in both public and private areas.
Sanitary metallurgy: copper, its alloys and microbial control
Copper enters the history of mankind during the Neolithic period. It has antimicrobial properties recognized since antiquity, very useful to play a barrier role in the spread of microbes. Some study results highlight the qualities of copper for its sanitary virtues.
An antivirus paint
MÉRIGNAC Fluorotechnique will offer its customers a self-decontaminating bactericidal and virucidal copper-based coating.
Will Fluorotechnique benefit from a promising growth driver? Benjamin Morin, Managing Director of the company, is convinced of this.
Located in Vert Castel since 2014, this company, whose head office is in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), specializes in surface treatment. “We usually apply non-stick and self-lubricating coatings, we offer solutions to problems of corrosion and electrical insulation”, summarizes the manager.
In aeronautics, Fluorotechnique is particularly active on aircraft engine parts. Airbus, Dassault and Thales are among its customers. The medical and pharmaceutical equipment, automotive (molding of Michelin tires) and food industry (molding of the canelés) are other important sectors. F’entreprise employs about thirty people, ten of which are in Mérignac, and achieves 5 million euros in sales.
Door handles, buttons…
The future development lever expected by Benjamin Morin is called “MetalSkin®”. Fluorotechnique is not a manufacturer but an applicator of this product, which is the result of a French invention. We are going to use it on behalf of customers by treating contact elements, whether metallic or plastic. We have the know-how and the technical means to use this paint according to the required standards”, assures Benjamin Morin. Door and window handles, bars, knobs and railings are all nests of microbes whose virulence can be largely attenuated.
Above all, Fluorotechnique has signed an exclusive agreement with MetalSkin Technologies, a TPE from Hérault, France. “There will be only four industrial applicators in France and our company will be the only certified center in New Aquitaine,” explains the Gironde-based manager, who plans to launch this technology at the end of September, by prospecting priority the actors of the medical field.
This coating draws its specificity from the incorporation of a copper alloy, a naturally bactericidal metal. It is the first of its kind to comply with the NF S90-700 standard. Approved in May 2019, this reference requires the elimination of 99% of bacteria in one hour, within a few hours. normal environmental conditions. “We are clearly in the nails since, what the standard requires in one hour, our product obtains it in a few minutes. It kills 99% of the bacteria in three minutes and divides by 3000 the number of bacteria in one hour”, guarantees Stéphane Penari, founding president of MetalSkin Technologies.
Another great interest, the layers can be applied on any type of support. Its effectiveness as a self-decontaminating surface has been analyzed by the Fonderephar (Foundation for the Development of Pharmaceutical Research) laboratory in Toulouse.
10-year stability
Developed well before the advent of the NF S90-700 standard, this solution was tested at the Saint-Roch Clinic in Montpellier. “There is no erosion of the self-decontaminating properties at the end of the fifth year,” assures Stéphane Penari. His company reports a stability of 10 years under normal conditions of use.
A bacterial chaser, MetalSkin® also acts as a virucide, killing, for example, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in less than four hours. This result is based on virulence analyses carried out by the Cemipai laboratory of the CNRS in Montpellier. However, “it does not dispense with hand cleaning and surface disinfection,” warns Stéphane Penari. This treatment should be conceived as an additional barrier gesture to reduce the risks of transmission via contact elements”. He adds by way of comparison: “When the ABS system arrived in the car, the rear brakes were not removed under the pretext that the vehicle was braking better. Here it’s the same.”
In addition to healthcare facilities, this type of surfacing is likely to interest many companies and communities. Stéphane Penari is confident of his innovation and has protected himself by filing several patents in France and around the world (United States, Canada, China, Japan, Australia). He is aware that solicitations are beginning to come in from certain countries.
Innovations to limit the risk of epidemics
To fight epidemics and reduce the risk of infection, there is nothing like repeated hygiene measures. However, when used in addition, certain materials or technological innovations limit the transmission and proliferation of viruses, bacteria or fungi, responsible for gastroenteritis, influenza, even Covid-19…
Copper, Ehpad’s ally
Copper is an antibacterial metal with interesting properties. A pioneer in its applications, the industrialist Lebronze alloys (Suippes) has developed products, including a range of door handles or handrails, SteriAll*, which is oxidation-resistant and recyclable, and offers virucidal, bactericidal and fungicidal protection. Numerous studies have confirmed these properties, including one conducted with the University of Reims Champagne Ardennes and the support of the region and European funds. It involved more than 620 residents of Ehpad or Marpa in 5 establishments. Each establishment was divided into two parts, one equipped with copper, the other not. The aim: to measure the impact of SteriAll* copper alloy on surface contamination and to evaluate the benefit of this copper alloy on the health of the people living in the equipped buildings. More than 1,300 bacterial samples were taken. The number of bacteria present on copper surfaces has been reduced by approximately 60% compared to surfaces made of conventional materials. Similarly, the large-scale installation of copper handles and handrails has shown that the number of infected people was four times lower in the equipped in copper alloy only in non-equipped areas.
Self-decontamination properties
MetalSkin Technologies, a leading French industrialist, is a major coup in the fight against infections. Its composite coating combining polymers and a 92% copper alloy, “applied to a thickness of 200 pm in certified plants, makes it possible to divide the number of bacteria by an average of 3,000 in one hour. ». It has many applications, but the most surprising is self-decontamination. on treated surfaces. It can thus provide properties bactericidal contact elements at risk: door handles, knobs elevator, switches, faucets, ramps, flush toilets, beds, etc. When you knows that 80% of infections associated with care are linked to manual contact, it is easy to understand what is at stake in such discoveries.
An Afnor standard to validate
“Since the 2000s, the industry has been using and abusing an ISO standard (22196) of Japanese origin, which in no way corresponds to the reality on the ground. In fact, the surface test is carried out in the dark for 24 hours at 37°C and 90% humidity“, explains Stéphane Penari, CEO of MetalSkin Technologies. “It has nothing to do with infection control in Ehpad. So I asked Afnor, which conducted a public inquiry to check whether this standard should be revised. The unanimous and unequivocal response led to the creation of a commission bringing together health professionals, hygienists and industrialists. “From their work was born in May 2019 the standard NF S90-700, which measures the bactericidal activity. This restrictive standard requires the number of bacteria on the treated surface to be divided by 100 in a maximum of 1 hour. ” Our MetalSkin® solution divides it by 1000 in three minutes on average. “In addition, the CNRS has just published a study indicating that MetalSkin® inhibits 99.95% of the bacteria on the treated surface. the SARS VOC 2 virus in less than 4 hours. And ISO has just created a Committee Dedicated technique to transform this NF standard into an international standard.
Article in French.
