Background
Contaminated computer keyboards have been acknowledged as a potential source for bacterial
transmission between health care providers and patients. Biosafe HM 4100 is an antimicrobial
polymer that can be incorporated into the polyurethane material used to make keyboard
covers. This study aimed to determine whether plastic keyboard covers containing HM
4100 effectively minimize the survival of bacterial species commonly present on health
care environmental surfaces.
Methods
Polyurethane material that contained 0.5% HM 4100, 1% HM 4100, and 1% HM 4100 with
spray coating of 1% HM 4100 were tested. In 2 separate experiments, the surfaces of
test materials were inoculated with suspensions of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VREF), Escherichia coli, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Viability was assessed on the materials at 0, 10, 30, 60, 120, and 240 minutes after
inoculation.
Results
Maximum reductions in viability were observed for all 4 organisms at the longest tested
time period on each test material. Mean reductions on the 0.5% HM 4100 material at
240 minutes were 99.99% for E coli, 97.8% for MRSA, 95.0% for VREF, and 92.1% for P aeruginosa. Mean reductions on the 1% HM 4100 at 120 minutes were 99.9% for VREF, 99.9% for
MRSA, 99.9% for P aeruginosa, and 99.5% for E coli. Mean reductions on the 1% HM 4100 plus spray coating at 30 minutes were 99.9% for
E coli, 99.8% for VREF, 98.8% for P aeruginosa, and 97.2% for MRSA.
Conclusions
Incorporation of the HM 4100 antimicrobial polymer into polyurethane keyboard material
may reduce the hand carriage of bacteria between health care providers and patients.
Key Words
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References
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Biosafe: Learn More. Available from: http://www.biosafe.com/corporate/. Accessed February 27, 2012.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 04, 2012
Footnotes
Supported in part by a grant from Biosafe, Inc, Pittsburgh, PA.
Conflict of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
