Infectious diseases are of mounting medical and public concern. A major contributor to this trend is the proliferation of medical implants, which are inherently vulnerable to microbial contamination and the subsequent onset of hospital-acquired infections.

A large proportion of hospital-related infections are acquired and spread due to the direct contacts between patients and healthcare workers. Accordingly, proper infection prevention measures, and especially hand hygiene, are key to limit the spread of infections in nosocomial settings. However, healthcare workers frequently experience difficulties in complying strictly to hand disinfection protocols. This study was therefore aimed at the development of a hand rub with antimicrobial activity that forms a protective film on the hand, a so-called microglove, in order to enhance hand hygiene. For this purpose, various co-polymer formulations consisting of different ratios of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and a branched C20 derivatized maleate (M20) in combination with the known biocide benzalkonium chloride (BKC) were tested for their combined film-forming and antimicrobial activities. The results of a series of novel contamination and transmission assays show that a formulation of 80% PVP and 20% M20 co-polymer with 0.9% BKC fulfils the elementary requirements for an antimicrobial microglove.

Povidone-iodine has been a true success story in the fight against infections by harnessing the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of elemental iodine for water-based applications. However, to date there has been little success in implementing iodine attributes in water-insoluble engineering plastics. Here, we describe the first development of biocidal active polyamide- and polyurethane-iodine complexes at laboratory and commercially relevant scales. These polymer-iodine materials are active against a broad range of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and fungi, and can be used as base materials for medical devices. The use of new polymer-iodine complexes for infection prevention in medical devices, such as sutures, catheters and drains, or wound care is expected to have significant positive effects at reducing healthcare-acquired infections. In addition, the materials are expected to find significant applications in other fields, such as air handling with the production of biocidal face masks and air filters to control spread of pathogens.