Antibacterial (silver ions)
Also known as: Silver-ion treatment
Finishing with silver ions to reduce bacterial growth and odour development.
Description
Antibacterial (silver ions) exploits the oligodynamic effect of silver: Ag+ ions bind to bacterial cell wall proteins, block enzymes and stop cell division. Effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans.
Application: silver as chloride, zeolite complex (AgION®) or metallic nanoparticles. Load 20-500 mg Ag/kg textile. Brands: Polygiene® Stays Fresh, SILVADUR® Antimicrobial, X-Static®. Testing per ISO 20743 or AATCC 100: log reduction of 2-4 (99-99.99 %).
Ageing: each wash carries away 0.1-1 % of silver. After 30-50 washes efficacy drops sharply. Environmental issue: silver ions are bioaccumulative and toxic to aquatic life (EC50 Daphnia 0.003 mg/l); released nanoparticles are under review in EU BPR since 2015. bluesign® and OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 limit Ag content and leaching.
Properties
| Test standard | ISO 20743, AATCC 100 |
|---|---|
| Typical values | log 2-4 reduction, 20-500 mg Ag/kg |
| Application | Sport base layers, socks, uniforms |
Related product categories
Sources & references
3- Wikipedia: Antimicrobial silver Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver
- OEKO-TEX OEKO-TEX Association https://www.oeko-tex.com/
- bluesign bluesign technologies ag https://www.bluesign.com/
