Types of Antimicrobial Packaging Systems

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Microbes (the collective term for bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses) cause infectious diseases, and antimicrobial agents, such as penicillin, streptomycin, and more than 150 others, have been developed to combat the spread and severity of many of these diseases." Antimicrobial packaging is one approach to preventing these microbes from flourishing. Cardboard, glass, plastic wrap, and plastic containers can all be treated with antimicrobial agents.

Bacteriocins

• Milk and cookies are both kept fresh in packaging treated with bacteriocins.

  Bacteriocins are proteins produced by certain strains of bacteria that kill or inhibit the growth of similar strains of bacteria. In the article "Bacteriocins Offer Enormous Promise in Food Packaging Safety Advances," authors Dr. Haiqiang Chen and John Williams, Jr. state that consumer demand for faster, healthier, and ready-to-eat products has stimulated increased research interest in finding natural, but effective preservatives.

  Packaging treated with bacteriocins makes direct contact with the enclosed food items. This helps reduce reliance on chemical preservatives while bringing down the intensity of heat treatments, which kill some of the beneficial food organisms along with the harmful ones. The bacteriocins can either be incorporated into the packaging material itself, or coated onto the surface of it. The result is more naturally-preserved, fresh-tasting, nutritious food, closer to its natural state.

Copper Packaging Material

• Copper products have antimicrobial properties.

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based on laws passed by Congress, writes and enforces regulations to protect human health and the environment. In February 2008, five copper-containing alloy products were registered by the EPA, allowing them to be placed on the market with the claim that they will kill 99.9 percent of bacteria within a couple of hours.

  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. That is why products with copper surfaces are being used in hospitals and nursing homes. Circuit board packaging is an example. This may seem insignificant, yet the individuals most likely to touch this type of surface are not medical staff, whose use of antimicrobial products is part of their daily regimen, but electricians and others not necessarily following the same strict routine. Thus, the self-sanitizing quality of copper helps check the spread of harmful microbes in places where it is highly important to maintain as sterile an environment as possible.

  The antimicrobial properties of copper are also being applied to shipping and storing processes, thanks to Lucent Technologies and Bell Laboratories. They have developed a copper-based polymer that protects a wide range of materials--such as cloth, wood, and metal--against corrosion, rust, and mildew. This material is available in a wide variety of packaging options, including sheets, zipper bags, and hard containers.

Silver Ions

• Antimicrobial silver ions have applications in the field of cosmetics.

  An ion is an atom or group of atoms in which the number of protons and electrons differ. Silver ions have antimicrobial applications, one of which is to prevent the spread of infection through the handling of packaging on cosmetic products. In the case of a bottle of liquid eyeshadow, for example, bacteria can collect on the applicator if it makes contact with the outside of the bottle as it is being opened. When the applicator is then put back into the bottle, it is likely to infect the contents. However, If a bacteria cell is trying to consume something from the surface of a bottle treated with antimicrobial agents, it will ingest a silver ion. When this happens, the cell wall will not close, and the cell will cease to metabolize. When a cell cannot metabolize, it cannot reproduce.