Microban introduces antimicrobial water-based coating for extended shelf life
06 Oct 2022 --- Microban International is launching LapisShield, a non-heavy-metal technology designed to integrate antimicrobial functionality into water-based coating formulation. The technology inhibits bacterial growth by up to 99.99%, preventing the formation of mold and mildew, protecting treated surfaces from microbial degradation.
Michael Ruby, president at Microban International, says “our coatings experts have worked to deliver a more environmentally-friendly technology that offers the best quality and compatibility for water-based coating systems.”
“The stability and clarity of LapisShield allow it to be easily integrated with a wide variety of coatings systems, including anti-fingerprint and anti-smudge formulations and applications requiring optically clear performance.”
Meeting industry needs
Manufacturers can enhance their coatings with product protection against the detrimental effects of microbes – including stains, odors and premature degradation – extending the lifetime of coated products with Microban’s technology.
LapisShield offers quality and stability by optimizing processing and manufacturing requirements. It also allows storing coating batches for future use, preventing waste and optimizing resources for more environmentally sustainable coatings manufacturing.
Antimicrobial packaging provides customers with an increased level of product protection against potentially harmful microbes. Microban’s technology is designed to meet the water-based coatings industry’s needs, a sector striving for clearer and more environmentally-friendly systems with a seamless finish. It is compatible with thin coating systems – offering enhanced UV stability, limiting impacts on the optical properties of water-based coatings and making them suitable for transparent glass or plastic applications.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, hygiene has come to the forefront of packaging design. Antimicrobial packaging provides customers with an increased level of product protection against potentially harmful microbes.
In June, we sat down with India Hanspal, business development manager at Addmaster, and Main Choice’s Terry W J Meng, project leader for developing the company’s antibacterial technology branded Papel to discuss key benefits of antimicrobial packaging technologies and how their respective solutions work.
Relatedly, university researchers developed a biodegradable spray-on coating to protect foods against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and transportation damage. The new solution reduces plastic food packaging and associated waste.
The food waste issue
Recently, several initiatives have been launched to optimize food packaging by extending shelf life to shorten food waste.
Packaging is essential to ensuring that food products reach consumers and don’t end up needlessly wasted, resulting in increased global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with production, transportation and rotting produce.
PackagingInsights spoke with experts from Sealpac and Graphic Packaging International to discuss these issues and uncover the latest industry trends.
Furthermore, UK supermarkets have started to remove best-before dates on fruit and vegetable packaging. Marks&Spencer and Asda both recently removed these dates to help reduce household food waste across product categories.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) found that improving waste management is an essential and dangerously unrecognized key to reducing GHG emissions, according to a report released today by GAIA.
Claire Arkin, global communications lead at GAIA, told us that the report and its findings shed important light on a neglected issue in the climate change debate.
By Natalie Schwertheim
