Antimicrobial powder coatings

An improved method of preparing powder coatings with microparticles of a solid heat absorbing material has been presented (4). An antimicrobial prepolymer for powder coatings has been described. 

The heat absorbing additive is selected from colorants, inorganic viscosity modifiers, ffllers, flame retardants, catalysts, antimicrobial agents, or sequestering agents. 

Antimicrobial ceramic particles include zeolites, hydroxyapatite, zirconium phosphates and other ion exchange ceramics. The ion 

The method or preparation involves heating the prepolymer and the polymer powder particles and the microparticles of the solid material to temperatures whereby when the two are in intimate contact with one another, they will fuse to each other, but not to themselves. 

Preferably, the prepolymer and the polymer powder coating particles are heated to at least their Vicat temperature while the solid, heat absorbing microparticles are heated to a temperature of 50°C above the temperature at which the prepolymer or pol5mer becomes tacky or begins to manifest adherent properties (4). 

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J.A. Trogolo and E.K. Welch, II, Antimicrobial powder coatings and method, US Patent 8063116, assigned to Sciessent LLC (Wakefield, MA), November 22, 2011. 

Objects for medical purposes made of plastics which are to have an antimicrobially active content of metals (or metal compounds) can be economically produced in that a plastic blank in foil, granulate or fibre form is coated with the desired metal (or metal compound) by the thin-film technique. The intermediate product thus obtained is then ground and mixed and processed further as the raw material for the desired final form. Sueh objects are thus antimicrobially active all over their surfaces and also on inner surfaces. Hence the full effect of the antimicrobially active substances, in this case oligodynamically active metals (or metal compounds) is obtained with only a small fraction of the quantities formerly required when they were included in the plastic in powdered form, thus resulting in considerable cost savings. 

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