In modern life, anti-bacterial plastics are increasingly present in our vision, from food packaging to children’s toys, from medical devices to everyday household items, and they are promoted as an illusion that bacteria can be effectively inhibited from growing and spreading, and even “never become a vector of bacteria”. It is, however, a mistake that needs to be corrected.
Antibacterials are not sterile.
Anti-bacterial plastics are usually used to inhibit bacterial growth by adding antibacterial agents to materials. Common antibacterial agents, such as silver ion, copper ion, Qemmonium salt, can damage the cytowall, membranes of bacteria or interfere with their metabolic processes, thereby reducing the number of bacteria. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no bacteria on antibacterial plastics. In the actual use environment, bacteria are ubiquitous and may come from air, human contact, other contaminated surfaces, etc. Even if antibacterial plastics are able to inhibit the growth rate of bacteria, bacteria may still survive and spread on their surfaces when their quantities reach a certain level or when antibacterial agents gradually fail.
Limitations of antibacterial agents
Antibacterials do not work once and for all. On the one hand, antibacterials can be consumed over time. For example, in the course of a reaction to a continuous contact with bacteria, a silver ion will be reduced to a silver atom, and its antibacterial capacity reduced. On the other hand, bacteria are adaptable and mutagenic. Long-term exposure to antibacterials in an environment where some bacteria are likely to produce resistance to antibacterials through genetic mutations, among other things, making the inhibition effects of antibacterial plastics significantly less effective. When these resistant bacteria are proliferating in large quantities on the surface of antibacterial plastics, they can become a source of bacterial transmission, spreading the resistant bacteria to other objects or bodies, posing potential health risks.
Environmental impacts of use
The actual antibacterial effects of antibacterial plastics are also highly influenced by the environment in which they are used. If antibacterial plastics are in extreme environments such as high temperature, high humidity and high acid alkalinity, this may not only lead to a decrease in the performance of the plastics themselves, but also affect the stability and activity of the antibacterial agents. For example, in high-temperature conditions, organic antibacterial agents in some antibacterial plastics may decompose and lose antibacterial effects; in high-moisture environments, moisture may dilute antibacterial concentrations or provide more favourable conditions for bacterial growth and reduce antibacterial resistance to antibacterial plastics. In addition, antibacterial plastic surfaces that are contaminated with impurities such as oil, dust and dust can be covered by antibacterial surfaces, hindering contact between antibacterial agents and bacteria, thus reducing antibacterial effects and making bacteria easier to breed and spread on their surfaces.
Right perception and rational use
Although antibacterial plastics have some antibacterial properties, we must be clear that they are not ever a bacterial vector. In our daily lives, we cannot rely entirely on anti-bacterial plastics to prevent bacterial infections and still need to maintain good hygiene practices, such as hand washing, regular cleaning and disinfection of home environments and articles. In addition to the use of anti-bacterial plastics, there is a need for a combination of strict disinfection processes to ensure that medical equipment and supplies do not become a means of bacterial transmission in places such as medical institutions. At the same time, manufacturers should clearly indicate the extent, duration and use of anti-bacterial plastics to enable consumers to properly understand and use these products and avoid health risks arising from misperceptions.
Antibacterial plastics can help us to a certain extent to reduce the risk of bacteria growing and spreading, but they must not be deified. Only a rational view of its anti-bacterial function and an integrated approach to health protection can better protect our own health and that of others and create a truly clean and healthy living and working environment.
