Antimicrobial article with functional coating and methods for making the antimicrobial article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9840438-B2
Application number	US-201514692150-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2015
Priority date	Apr 25, 2014
Publication date	Dec 12, 2017
Grant date	Dec 12, 2017

Abstract

A method of making an antimicrobial article including the steps: providing an article having a first surface and ion-exchangeable metal ions, a strengthening bath comprising ion-exchanging metal ions larger in size than the ion-exchangeable metal ions, and an antimicrobial bath comprising antimicrobial ions, ion-exchangeable metal ions and ion-exchanging ions; submersing the article in the strengthening bath to exchange ion-exchangeable metal ions with ion-exchanging metal ions in the strengthening bath to form a compressive stress region extending from the first surface to a first depth; forming a layer on the first surface arranged over the compressive stress region and defining a second surface; and submersing the article and the layer in the antimicrobial bath to exchange ion-exchangeable and ion-exchanging metal ions in the compressive stress region with antimicrobial ions to impart an antimicrobial region with antimicrobial ions extending from the second surface of the layer to a second depth.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An antimicrobial article, comprising:
a substrate having a first surface;
a layer disposed on the first surface, the layer defining a second surface;
a compressive stress region extending from the first surface of the substrate to a first depth in the substrate; and
an antimicrobial region comprising a plurality of Ag + ions extending from the second surface of the layer to a second depth in the substrate, the second depth at approximately 3 μm or less from the first surface of the substrate,
wherein the first surface of the substrate has a concentration of Ag + ions in the range from about 1% by weight to about 50% by weight.

2. The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a glass, glass-ceramic or ceramic composition.

3. The article of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises at least one coating selected from the group consisting of an anti-smudge coating, an anti-fingerprint coating, and an easy-to-clean coating.

4. The article claim 1 , wherein the second depth is set at approximately 1 μm or less from the first surface of the substrate.

5. The article of claim 1 , wherein the first surface is substantially free of strength-reducing defects, and wherein the substrate and the layer are each characterized by an optical transmittance of 88% or greater in the range of about 400 nm to 750 nm.

6. The article of claim 1 , wherein a majority of the plurality of Ag + ions extending from the second surface of the layer to a second depth in the substrate is in a non-reduced state.

7. The article of claim 1 , further wherein the article exhibits any one of:
a log kill rate of 5 or greater of at least Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria under JIS Z 2801 (2000) testing conditions,
a log kill rate of 3 or greater of at least Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria under modified JIS Z 2801 (2000) testing conditions, wherein the modified conditions comprise maintaining the antimicrobial glass article at a temperature of about 23° C. at a humidity of about 42% for about 24 hours, and
at a log kill rate of 2 or greater as tested by a test comprising:
(a) inoculating nutrient agar with a portion of a stock having a plurality of bacterial organisms to form a culture;
(b) incubating the culture to form a first incubated culture, incubating a portion of the first incubated culture with nutrient agar to form a second incubated culture, incubating a portion of the second incubated culture with nutrient agar to form a third incubated culture, and incubating the third incubated culture for approximately 48 hours to form an inoculated test plate with a plurality of bacterial colonies;
(c) forming an inoculum by suspending a portion of the plurality of bacterial colonies in a buffered test solution, adjusting the test solution to a pH of approximately 7to 8, and adding an organic soil serum at a concentration of approximately 10% to 30% by weight to the test solution;
(d) inoculating the antimicrobial region of the antimicrobial article with a portion of the inoculum;
(e) incubating the inoculated antimicrobial article for at least approximately two hours; and
(f) washing the incubated and inoculated antimicrobial article in a neutralizing solution to form a residual test inoculum, counting the number of surviving bacterial colonies per volume in the residual test inoculum, and calculating the percent reduction in the number of surviving bacterial colonies in the residual test inoculum relative to a residual control inoculum.

8. The article of claim 1 , wherein the layer is further characterized by a water contact angle of at least 75° after the article has been subjected to 6,000 abrasion cycles.

9. The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate further comprises other surfaces, and further wherein the other surfaces and the first surface comprise scratches that are less than 2 mm in length after the article has been subjected to 8,000 abrasion cycles.

10. The article of claim 1 , wherein the article either one or both
an optical reflectance value before and a value after at least 8,000 abrasion cycles, wherein the optical reflectance values are substantially equivalent, and
an optical transmission value before and a value after at least 8,000 abrasion cycles, wherein the optical transmission values are substantially equivalent.

11. An antimicrobial article, comprising:
a substrate having a first surface;
a layer disposed on the first surface, the layer defining a second surface and a bottom surface;
a compressive stress region extending from the first surface of the substrate to a first depth in the substrate; and
an antimicrobial region comprising a plurality of Ag + ions extending only from the second surface of the layer to a second depth in the layer above the bottom surface,
wherein the second surface of the layer has a concentration of Ag + ions in the range from about 1% by weight to about 50% by weight.

12. The article of claim 11 , wherein the substrate consists essentially of a glass, glass-ceramic or ceramic composition.

13. The article of claim 11 , wherein the layer comprises at least one coating selected from the group consisting of an anti-smudge coating, an anti-fingerprint coating, and an easy-to-clean coating.

14. The article of claim 11 , further wherein the article exhibits any one of:
a log kill rate of 5 or greater of at least Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria under JIS Z 2801 (2000) testing conditions,
a log kill rate of 3 or greater of at least Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria under modified JIS Z 2801 (2000) testing conditions, wherein the modified conditions comprise maintaining the antimicrobial glass article at a temperature of about 23° C. at a humidity of about 42% for about 24 hours, and
at a log kill rate of 2 or greater as tested by a test comprising:
(a) inoculating nutrient agar with a portion of a stock having a plurality of bacterial organisms to form a culture;
(b) incubating the culture to form a first incubated culture, incubating a portion of the first incubated culture with nutrient agar to form a second incubated culture, incubating a portion of the second incubated culture with nutrient agar to form a third incubated culture, and incubating the third incubated culture for approximately 48 hours to form an inoculated test plate with a plurality of bacterial colonies;
(c) forming an inoculum by suspending a portion of the plurality of bacterial colonies in a buffered test solution, adjusting the test solution to a pH of approximately 7 to 8, and adding an organic soil serum at a concentration of approximately 10% to 30% by weight to the test solution;
(d) inoculating the antimicrobial region of the antimicrobial article with a portion of the inoculum;
(e) incubating the inoculated antimicrobial article for at least approximately two hours; and
(f) washing the incubated and inoculated antimicrobial article in a neutralizing solution to form a residual test inoculum, counting the number of surviving bacterial colonies per volume in the residual test inoculum, and calculating the percent reduction in the number of surviving bacterial colonies in the residual test inoculum relative to a residual control inoculum.

15. A method of making an antimicrobial article, comprising the steps:
providing an article comprising a glass, glass-ceramic or ceramic composition and having a first surface and a plurality of ion-exchangeable metal

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Castle Thomas Michael
• Guryanov Georgiy M
• Kuksenkova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna
• Verrier Florence Christine Monique

Classifications

• C03C2204/02

  Antibacterial glass, glaze or enamel · CPC title

• Y02P40/50

  Glass production, e.g. reusing waste heat during processing or shaping · CPC title

• C03C2217/76

  Hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings · CPC title

• C03C17/30

  with silicon-containing compounds · CPC title

• C03C21/005 Primary

  to introduce in the glass such metals or metallic ions as Ag, Cu · CPC title