Microorganisms are ubiquitous in the environment. Many are benign but some are pathogens that pose important threats to the health of individuals and the community. Many bacteria including multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO), such as MRSA, CRAB, MDRA and VRE, can survive and persist in the environment, especially in the hospital, and cause infections among patients. These nosocomial infections are also called hospital acquired infections (HAIs) which are, in fact a major health concern as well as a significant financial burden in the health care sector world. Although significant efforts have been made to disinfect hard surfaces in the hospital environment, soft and porous materials such as hospital textiles have been generally ignored. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and long-term performance of a new antimicrobial system for hospital textiles via laboratory investigation and field study in the hospital environment. It will not only benchmark the use of the antimicrobial system against the current hospital disinfection practices, but will also assess the scale-up process for sustainable manufacturing.

The research is carried out in four phases, including (1) laboratory experimentation for bactericidal efficacy of mentioned MDRO involved in HAI, and (2) field testing through partnership with Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and Kowloon Hospital (KH). Furthermore, it will involve (3) the practical deployment of the technology to all hospital textiles and (4) the assembly of a manufacturing blueprint for large-scale production of the antimicrobial system and together with hospital personnel develop a workable protocol for their deployment in hospital. The results of the preliminary study in the laboratory are very encouraging in that more than 3 log reduction and 99.97% antimicrobial efficacy against targeted pathogens have been achieved. It showed the micellar antimicrobial formulation to be very efficient against common bacteria, pathogens and MDROs found in the hospital environment. Results also demonstrated the formulation to be durable and can provide long-term surface disinfection against microorganisms.

 As a consequence, this will have the beneficial impact of reducing the risk of transmission of pathogens from environment to patient host, and thus lower the number of HAIs. The need for such a safe antimicrobial system that is inexpensive, easy to use and can provide long-term protection against microbial surface recontamination is in fact, not limited to hospital and healthcare environments but can also be applied to public and domestic premises. It will have an immediate impact of decreasing the viability of MDRO and other pathogens in the environment, reduce transmission of diseases and improve both individual wellness and public health.