Polyfuze Graphics, a global manufacturer of polymer fusion technology products for safety labelling and graphics, has introduced an antimicrobial safety product to help with Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Low Surface Energy (LSE) polyolefin plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, play an important role within the healthcare environment. Olefin based plastic is widely used in the medical industry, and is suitable for biomedical applications for multiple reasons including the following:
- It possesses a high level of durability - this means it can stand up to both heat and cryogenic freezing.
- It is also chemically inert - meaning it does not react chemically with other substances and is easily cleansed of bacteria or viruses that could cause a HAI or spread infection.
It is a legal requirement to use biohazard or warning labels in the medical industry, however, issues exist around labelling.
- Incompatibility: This could be because the label doesn’t adhere to the plastic, or it is damaged by processes such as autoclaving or disinfectants.
- The polyolefin plastics: Although the labels are used and applied correctly, it can be difficult to ensure a label adheres to a polyolefin plastic.
There are ways to try and prevent any issues with labelling, and these include:
- Compatible prevention: Polyfuze’s patented fusion technology labels are made of the same polyolefin plastic in an attempt to eliminate label failures caused through incompatibility.
- Antimicrobial infusion: Polyfuze and its sister company Mold In Graphic Systems (MIGS) have created a new antimicrobial product called Prevent. This aims to make rotomoulded products easier to clean and sanitise whilst mitigating the growth of bacterial or harmful pathogens.
Noël Daigle from Polyfuze Graphics has written a comprehensive blog post on the topic in more detail. You can read the blog in full here.