Cationic polymers are bringing about a dramatic change in the world of antimicrobials. This is due to its novel technology that is essentially based on electrostatic attraction of microbes. All kinds of products and applications can be protected with the antimicrobial properties of cationic polymers. We can now very well foresee a future of hygienic solutions that excludes the use of conventional chemical agents to protect us from microbes.

Cationic polymer technology can be potentially used very successfully in various applications and on different materials that need to be kept free of bacterial contamination. A wide range of materials and products can be protected with Cationic polymers. It has proved itself in initial tests against some types of viruses, yeast and endotoxins.

Some of the potential applications and products that could benefit from Cationic polymers is listed below.

• Protective clothing
• Cleaning and personal care products
• Hospital supplies like paper bed sheets, bed-sets, medical paper etc
• Packaging material for foodstuffs (FDA approval awaited)
• Fabrics (protects clothes between two washes)
• Water filters
• Air filters used in pharmaceutical industries and other domestic air filters

There are several advantages of Cationic polymers ability to modify surfaces. First, it gets permanently bound to the surface. This can be done by a number of processes like spraying and coating. Any number of washes does not reduce the efficacy of the polymer coating and the application is reproducible. The same surface can be coated over and over again with the Cationic polymers. The protection offered is in both dry and wet environments. The polymer is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The best part is that it is offers the lowest cost per square meter for the protection it guarantees.

Some of the materials that have been tested with favorable results include

• Textiles
• Plastic films
• Nylon
• Surfaces like steel, glass, ceramic, and plastic
• Filters
• Non-woven material
• Cellulose based materials

Cationic polymer is the only non-toxic and cost effective way to protect the masses from harmful contaminants, thus, serving a larger cause of keeping people free from harmful microbes.

As we see around ourselves today the world faces a serious threat from drug resistant bacterial and hospital contamination is one of the most vexing problems that the medical fraternity has to deal with today. Not only hospitals but all public places need to be protected. Cationic polymers is one very effective way of addressing these issues.

Preventing contaminants is now possible with this new ground breaking and technology, Cationic polymers. Due to its wide array of applicability and obvious benefits this technology has the potential to become the global standard to prevent contamination.

The surface sprayed/coated with Cationic polymers functions just like flypaper which attracts bacteria and other microbes. The microbes get stuck to the Cationic polymer coated surface due to electrostatic attraction, which proves to be their nemesis.

The process is fairly easy to explain. Bacteria have negative charge and this draws them to the positively charged surface, similar to the way paper clips are drawn to a powerful magnet. The Cationic polymers have a strong permanent positive charge which enables it to hold the bacteria, thus not allowing it to multiply.

As the bacteria are not able to escape from the surface their capacity to multiply and spread to other surrounding area is restricted. The best part is that all this happens without the use of any harmful chemicals or antibiotics. Since no antibiotics are used the specter of bacteria developing resistance is eliminated and the environment saved from the resultant pollution.

This harmless solution to deal with bacteria was essentially developed to counter the bacteria related issues based on non-leaching. However, it is very efficient and applicable in several other areas due to its simple chemistry.

Cationic polymers can be sprayed on any material and it stays there. The cationic polymer molecule provides the surface with a positive charge that traps the bacteria. The surface that is to be modified does not need special conditions like temperature or pH. The modification happens as a thin layer of film is coated on the surface without altering the appearance or the character of the material.

A wide range of materials and products benefit from surface modification using Cationic polymers and a number of tests conducted have demonstrated its efficacy.