February 2004
Elastoguard® Antimicrobial Ultrascan™ Rubber Mats Introduced by Milliken & Company

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SElastoguard® Antimicrobial Ultrascan™ Rubber Mats Introduced by Milliken & Company

First Reported by Industrial NewsRoom™ Feb 23, 2004

Milliken-Kex, a division of Milliken & Company, has joined the growing number of industrial manufacturers utilizing silver ions to address bacterial and fungal conditions in a wide range of environmental settings.

First introduced in May of 2003, Ultrascan rubber mats were developed to provide superior relief for joint and muscle fatigue, as well as to reduce bacterial and fungal growth commonly found on contemporary mats used in industrial and food processing environments. Since the release of the new product line, the Ultrascan Mats have become popular with commercial kitchens, food processing plants, grocery stores, and industrial shops.

The AlphaSan® antimicrobial additive ( CAS Number: 265647-11-8 ) is a zirconian phosphate-based ceramic ion-exchane resin made with silver, and has been cleared by the FDA as an acceptable food contact polymer.

According to Millikin & Co., silver zirconian phosophate has been demonstrated to be more durable than silver zeolite compounds, and the AlphaSan additive has been engineered for long-term effectiveness with no agglomeration of the impregnated silver particles. The additive works by releasing positively charged silver ions in the presence of minute amounts of moisture, which come in contact with microbes existing on the treated surface.

The AlphaSan additive is itself is sold in powder form, and available products contain between 3.1% and 10% silver content, with the average silver particle size at 1.3 microns in diameter.

For more information about the zirconian phosphate silver additive, visit the AlphaSan product page.

For more information about the Elastoguard® Antimicrobial Ultrascan™ Rubber Mats, visit Milliken's product page.

See also: Silver & Medical Applications

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