| abstract |
A method for making an anti-microbial article is described, the method comprising: providing a substrate; forming a solution comprising a chelating polymer and a metal ion; depositing the solution on the substrate; drying the substrate to form a coated substrate; and adding a potentiator to the coated substrate to form the antimicrobial article. Forming of the solution comprises (A) selecting a chelating polymer from the group consisting of polyglucosamines, ethylene acrylic acid copolymers, polycarboxylic acids, and polyamines, (B) dissolving the chelating polymer in acid to form an acidic solution, (C) preparing an aqueous solution of the metal ion, preferably by selecting a salt of the metal ion and dissolving the salt in water, and (D) combining the aqueous solution of the metal ion and the acidic solution. The addition of the potentiator to the coated substrate is accomplished by dissolving the potentiator in water to provide a potentiator solution, treating the coated substrate with the potentiator solution, drying the substrate to provide the finished anti-microbial article. The invention provides a method for the treatment of any of a variety of substrates to thereby render the substrate resistant to certain microbial growth. |