ANTIMICROBIAL ELASTOMERIC ARTICLES
The present invention relates generally to methods of preparing antimicrobial elastomeric articles that include an elastomeric article having an antimicrobial coating provided thereon. The antimicrobial elastomeric articles exhibit enhanced ability to reduce or eliminate microbes that come in contact with the article. Certain aspects of the invention are further directed to methods of packaging the antimicrobial elastomeric articles, where the packaged antimicrobial articles exhibit antimicrobial effectiveness for an extended period of time as compared to unpackaged antimicrobial articles. Antimicrobial elastomeric articles and packaged antimicrobial elastomeric articles prepared in accordance with the methods of the present invention are also provided.
1 . A method for preparing an antimicrobial elastomeric article, comprising:
exposing an elastomeric article to an environment comprising about 10.3 g/m 3 or less absolute humidity;
coating the elastomeric article with an antimicrobial coating composition to form an antimicrobial elastomeric article; and
exposing the antimicrobial elastomeric article to an environment comprising about 10.3 g/m 3 or less absolute humidity,
wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article reduces the initial number of microorganisms present on a surface by at least 4 log 10 within 5 minutes of being contacted by the antimicrobial elastomeric article.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric article is exposed to the environment for a period of from about 12 to about 48 hours.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article is exposed to the environment for a period of from about 12 to about 48 hours.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the environment comprising about 10.3 g/m 3 or less absolute humidity is maintained by a structure selected from the group consisting of rooms, bags, packages, boxes, and totes.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the structure further comprises a desiccant selected from the group consisting of silica gel, aerogel, bentonite clay, activated alumina, nitrogen gas, and argon gas.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial coating composition comprises an antimicrobial agent, a hydrophilic polymer, and a hydrophobic oligomer.
7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein antimicrobial agent is selected from the group consisting of biguanides (e.g., chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG), chlorhexidine diacetate, chlorhexidine dihydrochloride, chlorhexidine diphosphanilate, poly(hexamethylene biguanide) (PHMB)), rifampin, minocycline, silver compounds (silver chloride, silver oxide, silver sulfadiazine), triclosan, quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g., benzalkonium chloride, tridodecyl methyl ammonium chloride, didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, chloroallyl hexaminium chloride, benzethonium chloride, methylbenzethonium chloride, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, cetyl pyridinium chloride, dioctyldimethyl ammonium chloride), iron-sequestering glycoproteins (e.g., lactoferrin, ovotransferrin/conalbumin), cationic polypeptides (e.g., protamine, polylysine, lysozyme), surfactants (e.g., SDS, Tween-80, surfactin, Nonoxynol-9), zinc pyrithione, broad-spectrum antibiotics (quinolones, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides and sulfonamides), antiseptic agents (iodine, methenamine, nitrofurantoin, validixic acid), and combinations thereof.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein antimicrobial agent comprises chlorhexidine gluconate.
9 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the hydrophilic film-forming polymer comprises cationic acrylic copolymer of acrylic acid and methacrylic ester with quaternary ammonium groups.
10 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the hydrophobic oligomer comprises wherein a nonionic paraffin wax of 25-30 carbons in chain length
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial coating composition is applied by a technique selected from the group consisting of dipping, spraying, and tumbling.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the antimicrobial coating composition is applied while the elastomeric article is heated to about 55° C.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of drying the elastomeric article at 55° C.±5° C. for about 30 minutes after coating the elastomeric article with the antimicrobial coating composition.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article reduces the number of one or more microbes selected from the group consisting of coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Enterococci, fungi, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter species, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus viridans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Burkholderia cepacia, Varicella, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium sordellii, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), mumps, norovirus, parvovirus, poliovirus, rubella, SARS, S. pneumoniae (including drug resistant forms), vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA), vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE).
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article is provided in a packaging system.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the packaging system comprises a packaging material selected from the group consisting of aluminum foil, polyethylene film, nylon film, and laminates thereof.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the packaging system comprises desiccant material selected from the group consisting of silica gel, aerogel, bentonite clay, activated alumina, nitrogen gas, and argon gas.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the relative humidity inside the packaging system is below about 50% relative humidity.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the packaged antimicrobial elastomeric article is able to reduce the number of microorganisms present on a surface by at least 4 log 10 within 5 minutes of being contacted by the antimicrobial elastomeric article for from about 8 to about 26 weeks following packaging.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the packaged antimicrobial elastomeric article is able to reduce the number of microorganisms present on a surface by at least 4 log 10 within 5 minutes of being contacted by the antimicrobial elastomeric article for at least 4 weeks following opening the package to ambient atmospheric conditions.
21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric article is selected from the group consisting of gloves, condoms, probe covers, and catheters.
22 . An antimicrobial elastomeric article according to claim 1 .
23 . A packaged antimicrobial elastomeric article according to claim 15 .
24 . A method for preparing an antimicrobial elastomeric article, comprising:
exposing an elastomeric article to an environment comprising about 10.3 g/m 3 or less absolute humidity; and
coating the elastomeric article with an antimicrobial coating composition to form an antimicrobial elastomeric article;
wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article reduces the number of microorganisms present on a surface by at least 4 log within 5 minutes of being contacted by the antimicrobial elastomeric article.
25 . A method for preparing an antimicrobial elastomeric article, comprising:
coating the elastomeric article with an antimicrobial coating composition to form an antimicrobial elastomeric article; and
exposing the antimicrobial elastomeric article to an environment comprising about 10.3 g/m 3 or less absolute humidity;
wherein the antimicrobial elastomeric article reduces the number of microorganisms present on a surface by at least 4 log within 5 minutes of being contacted by the antimicrobial elastomeric article.