What you need to know about Antiviral & Antimicrobial plastisol

What it is & why it’s important

As the world slowly begins to come out of it’s hibernation, what we can take away is the plethora of lessons we have learnt over the past year and more. From social distancing to washing our hands more, to become more aware of how our own bodies respond when feeling stress, illness or hardship. Although these lessons are something we may never forget, there is one thing that we do need to continue to be aware of – the transmission of microbes from one surface to another, or from one surface to ourselves.

Due to this, I thought what better way than to write an article based upon one of our best selling products that diverse in use, but also safe.

Polyblend’s Antiviral & Antimicrobial Plastisol.

Before we even begin, let’s cover a few bases.

What is an antimicrobial?                                                                                                                                        An antimicrobial is a substance that will reduce or destroy the presence of microbes such as bacteria and mould.

What is antiviral?                                                                                                                                                    Antiviral is a treatment which is effective against viruses.

What is plastisol?                                                                                                                                                  Plastisol is a suspension of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other polymer particles in a liquid plasticiser; it flows as a liquid and can be cured by heat fusion when processing by moulding, coating or hot-dipping methods.

And if we combine them all together?                                                                                                            When we take the above and combine them all together, we get PB-Protect, a range of speciality, premium-grade plastisol’s which can now be manufactured as antiviral and/or antimicrobial to produce PVC or Acrylic coatings which offer innovative solutions to make surface coatings hygienic through product protection and complimenting existing cleaning protocols.

Why is Antiviral & Antimicrobial Plastisol important?

As the leading producer of liquid PVC solutions, widely known as plastisols, we knew it to be of grave importance to have a product on the market that is not only above industry standard but also utilising specific Biomaster antimicrobial technology. This technology uses bespoke additives to create products that have permanent inbuilt protection against microbes even showing effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA & VRE.

Along with that PB Protect Antivirus plastisol has been tested by an independent test house demonstrating a reduction in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, on their surfaces. When tested to ISO 21702:2019 we have seen a reduction in SARS-CoV-2 on the surface of over 94% after 24 hours when compared to a control.

In independent laboratory tests, PolyBlend’s PB-Protect Antimicrobial Plastisol has also shown to offer a reduction in bacterial growth of 99.94% when tested to ISO 22196.

Therefore showing PB Protect coatings are an effective way of inhibiting microbial growth with antimicrobial protection which can be used in many different industries and areas.

With the Biomaster technology incorporated into the plastisol at the time of manufacture. Our innovative mixing method ensures that the PVC or Acrylic coating offers product protection for the intended lifetime of the end-product. This proven process gives antimicrobial product protection to our customers and their end-user or consumers.

As a global society, we are aware at how the recent pandemic has fundamentally changed the world as we know it, and hygiene is at the forefront of our minds now more than ever before.

With health conscious consumerism on the rise, it plays a large importance on maintaining positive hygiene in all areas of life, including the products in which they by.

At Polyblend, with our customers at the forefront of our mind, responding to changing consumer demand is of high importance to us, and with the plastics industry playing a large role in supplying plastisol products such as grips, handles & medical wear, why should we not be instilling a higher precautionary measure to our everyday tools?

The question is, how often are our customers cleaning their surface coatings or everyday plastisol based items?

My guess is not as often as we would like to believe, even during a pandemic, let alone thinking about how little we wiped a tools handle pre-pandemic. Many see impracticalities, especially in a workplace setting, therefore the incorporation of antimicrobial technology into everyday items is an effective way to reduce the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses between users.

The benefit?                                                                                                                                                   

1. Greater hygiene standards.
2. Reduction of bacteria and viruses by up to 99%.
3. Minimisation of stains, ours and material degradation.

The benefit as a manufacturer?

The infusion of Biomaster antimicrobial technology within Polyblend plastisol will not only increase the value of your products but allow you to gain a competitive advantage whilst growing your product range.

The antimicrobial additives will not leech from the surface or affect the clarity of the plastic upon the product, it will however, maintain positive hygiene and show how you as a business are ensuring your consumers are a top priority.

Want to find out more?

If you’re interested in antimicrobial plastisol at Polyblend then please reach out to me for more information, either via LinkedIn or email mark@polyblend.co.uk.