Page 12 - Climate Control News Mag October 2019

World News
New antimicrobial coating to battle hospital infections
SCIENTISTS HAVE CREATED AN ANTIMICROBIAL COATING FOR STEEL SURFACES WHICH HAS PROVEN TO RAPIDLY KILL BACTERIA THAT CAUSE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS.
midis, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.
The research also showed that the coating killed bacteria within 45 minutes – far more rap- idly than currently commercially available tech- nologies which do not have a significant effect on bacteria until up to 24 hours.
Dr Felicity de Cogan, Royal Academy of En- gineering Enterprise Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Chief Scientific Officer at NitroPep, said one of the biggest public health issues across the world continues to be the spread of infection and contamination from bacterial, viral and insect-borne diseases.
“Our successful clinical study shows that our non-toxic coating could be used on regularly handled steel surfaces, such as toilet flush han- dles, bed rails and metal medical equipment, across healthcare, education and other indus- trial and leisure settings helping to create safer and healthier environments,” she said.
University of Birmingham, UK.
DEVELOPED BY RESEARCHERS at the Uni- versity of Birmingham and patented by Univer- sity of Birmingham Enterprise, the coating will be commercialised by a new company NitroPep.
The company's managing director, Graeme Forster, said there is a clear and urgent need to prevent the transmission and spread of infec- tion in the built environment, not just in the UK but globally.
“NitroPep is a novel, cost effective, and cut- ting-edge technology for bonding antimicrobial actives onto various surfaces which we believe is the future solution to a global problem,” he said.
Researchers conducted a clinical trial which saw NitroPep coated on steel surfaces – in- cluding door handles, an operating theatre
ABOVE: Dr Felicity de Cogan, Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow at the University of Birmingham.
and part of a communal toilet – on board a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship.
Both the surfaces coated in NitroPep, and ‘con- trol’ surfaces that were not treated with the coating, were subject to standard daily cleaning regimes while the ship was at sea for an 11 month period.
The surfaces were swabbed on a weekly ba- sis and the results were then analysed in the laboratory.
The results showed that the coating was ef- fective against five different bacteria that are responsible for hospital-acquired infections – Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epider-
NZ scheme for low GWP refrigerants
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
THE NEW ZEALAND government is seeking to introduce a new licensing regime for refrig- eration and air conditioning technicians.
While it is still in the consultation phase, CCN understands all low GWP refrigerants such as CO2, HFO’s hydrocarbons and ammo- nia will be covered by the scheme.
The scheme will be divided into classes of technicians and the training required to be part of the new regime will be integrated into
RIGHT: The scheme will cover hydrocarbons and ammonia.
the NZ Certificate in Refrigeration & Air Condi- tioning (level 4).
The license will be administered by Worksafe under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The govermnent estimates that more than half of the 7,000 technicians working in the HVACR industry have not undertaken filler training to work with flammable or toxic refrigerants.
Local industry groups oppose the current pro- posal and are seeking clarification on a range of issues from licensing fees to offence provisions and penalties.
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