Imagine living in a house where microbes have no chance to proliferate. They simply die when they touch the walls.
Antibiotic-resistant microbes, also known as Super Bugs, infect hospital surfaces and cause an estimated 88,000 deaths annually in the United States alone.
This might soon change.
Scientists in South Dakota are reporting development of the first broad-spectrum antimicrobial paint, a material that can simultaneously kill not just disease-causing bacteria but mold, fungi, and viruses.
Antimicrobial paints already exist and can be purchased. They are however only effective against a narrow range of disease-causing microorganisms, limiting their usefulness.
The newly developed paint is much more powerful and kills a wide range of disease-causing microbes including those resistant to multiple antibiotics.
What the scientists, Yuyu Sun and Zhengbing Cao, developed is a new antimicrobial polymer that includes a type of N-halamine, a bleach-like substance with germ-killing effects.
It does not affect the quality of latex paints. The paint retains its anti-microbial properties for extended periods, and it can be easily recharged with a simple chlorination process.
The question of course is how safe is it to human beings or animals getting in contact with it? Constant exposure to the N-halamine might perhaps has long term effect on health.
If research reveals that the paint is absolutely safe then we would indeed be living in a safer surroundings.
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