Creating antimicrobial textile coatings with INSQIN® & AGXX

The sharing economy is booming. By 2030, the number of car sharing users in Europe is expected to reach around 23.6 million,¹and the number of co-working spaces in Germany alone has doubled since 2020.²

Whether due to the popularity of hotdesking, short-term vehicle rentals, or increased public transport usage,³ this shift in consumer behavior means items and spaces are being used by more people. In turn, this is creating the ideal environment for bacteria, fungi, and viruses to thrive on surfaces.

With growth trends set to continue, demand for easy-to-clean antimicrobial textile coatings that support hygiene and withstand high usage is also rising. However, according to the review process of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), traditional antimicrobial technologies based on releasing silver ions face the challenge of meeting the requirements of the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) due to the concern over potential harm to human health, animals, and natural ecosystems.

When antimicrobial technologies are added to textile surfaces, the top priority is to make sure they are safe for humans, animals, and the environment.

By using our waterborne INSQIN® textile coatings, textile manufacturers can create more sustainable solutions. However, these gains are quickly undone if potentially harmful antimicrobial solutions are added to coating formulations.

With the introduction of the BPR in 2012, conventional antimicrobial technologies had to be re-evaluated again to meet the requirements. Traditional silver technologies used in the market face the challenge of meeting the new requirements, especially because these solutions release potentially environmentally harmful silver ions. Many are now set to be phased out in the years ahead. This has created urgent need for a future-proof alternative antimicrobial technology: one that is effective, durable, regulatory compliant, and created without toxic substances. At the same time, any new solutions must easily integrate with coatings formulations by ensuring compatibility with all ingredients.

Materials innovator Heraeus Precious Metals developed a new antimicrobial technology that harnesses the power of micro-electric fields and oxygen radicals to eliminate microorganisms. We collaborated with Heraeus Precious Metals to test the compatibility of AGXX with our Impranil® products.

Based on a catalytic reaction of two precious metals, AGXX converts oxygen into reactive oxygen species (ROS) using moisture from air humidity. These ROS eliminate microbes by disrupting their outer cell membranes, organelles, and DNA. Because AGXX is powered by chemical reactions created by environmental conditions, the active mechanism is continuously regenerated.

The tests we conducted revealed that AGXX can be successfully integrated into PU coating formulations based on our Impranil® products and can be effectively applied to a broad range of synthetic coated textiles. Furthermore, no changes to established manufacturing processes are required with formulations containing AGXX and Impranil® products. 

Just as our waterborne INSQIN® technology offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional solvent-borne textile coatings, AGXX supports enhanced sustainability compared to conventional silver-ion-based systems.

Crucially, the combination of INSQIN® and AGXX supports durability, cleanability, hygiene, and the prevention of bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms in PU textile coatings. This makes formulations that include both materials well suited to applications in high-use environments.

¹Source: Statista
²Source: Bundesverband Coworking Spaces
³Source: Destatis