As businesses and airlines begin to welcome back visitors, customers and passengers following the pandemic, hygiene is a key factor for building consumer confidence. This means that any surfaces that may be touched will be subjected to chemical disinfectants and cleaning agents, so they must be able to withstand any harsh treatments. An even better strategy is to have surfaces that can fend off microbes as they make contact, rather than fighting them after they’ve settled on a surface.
Sekisui Kydex developed and launched such a product in 2009 – the Kydex MB (antimicrobial) line of thermoplastics, which is inherently resistant to bacteria and fungi. The product’s properties are gaining more attention today, as the antimicrobial protection incorporated into the sheets does not wear off over time.
However, antimicrobial technologies have evolved since these initial developments, and researchers at Sekisui Kydex have created the next generation of high performance, antimicrobial thermoplastic sheet, featuring what it calls Kydex Ion Technology. The sheet combines inherently antimicrobial Kydex thermoplastics with enhanced antimicrobial protection, which interferes with microbe DNA to prevent cells from multiplying. The Kydex Ion Technology materials have been tested to ISO 22196 and JIS Z 2801 to qualitatively measure their effectiveness.
