In recent years, with the improvement of quality of life, there has been an increasing interest in aseptic
condition in various fields, including the residential environment. This review outlines the research and
development status of antimicrobial and antiviral materials that have been undertaken to date. Then, the
antimicrobial and antiviral material, such as ABCoat consisting of metallic nanocolloids, which we have been
developing with focusing on safety is presented.
ABCoat is an aqueous dispersion in which platinum and silver are nanocolloidated, and the constituent
concentration of the particles is 0.1wt% or less, and the average particle diameter is about 100nm. By
supporting this dispersion on various materials, the Ag+ and Pt4+ derived from metal nanocolloids don’t elute
and represents antimicrobial performance. In a short time, ABCoat reduces microbes such as Escherichia
coli, Staphylococcus aureus, herpes simplex viruses, and adenoviruses. This mechanism of action may be
inactivation by adsorption of nanoparticles to surface of bacteria and viruses.
A purpose of this treatise is introduction of ε-Poly-L-lysine( ε-polylysine), which is homo polymer of L-lysine.
It is produced by fermentation method in aerobic culture with Streptomyces albulus. Chemical structure
of ε-polylysine is too unique, it is polymerized ε-position amino group and α-position carboxyl group in Llysine
by amide bond, that structure resembles nylon 6. α-Position amino groups in ε-polylysine charges with
a cationic charge in water under pH 9, it behaves as a cationic polymer. This cationic charge provides variety
of effect, such as antimicrobial effect, adsorption or dispersion effect for electric charged components, and so
on.
ε-Polylysine has been approved as a natural origin food preservative in Japan since 1989, also has been approved
in south Korea, the United States, and China. In addition, it is used as not only food preservative but
also as an ingredient for cosmetics and chemicals.
ε-Polylysine inhibit various microorganisms at low concentration, and it provides synergistic effect with other
antimicrobial agents, such as alcohol, organic acids, chelating agents, and so on. Recently, it has found out
that combination of ε-polylysine and natto-extract( NAP) provides inhibition effect of Feline calicivirus( FCV)
近年の清潔志向の高まりとともに,腸内フローラ改善などの健康増進に関する意識向上,食中毒事故や
感染症に対する危機意識の高まりなど,微生物やウイルスとヒトとの関わりに大きな関心が示されるよう
になっている。これらは,人の生活環境における微生物制御の必要性の高まりと捉えることもできるであ
ろう。本稿では,微生物細胞やウイルスの特徴と生育環境を解説すると共に,微生物細胞の集団であるバ
イオフィルムの特徴,微生物細胞やバイオフィルムの制御法の最近の知見を紹介する。
In this paper, the possibility of COVID-19 infection routes analyzed from the viewpoint of fine particle
technology was introduced. Large saliva droplets containing a large amount of virus fall in a short time, and the
contaminated surfaces may cause the source of fomite transmission. However, infection does not occur just by
attaching the virus on our hands. Therefore, hand washing helps prevent infection. In contrast, the amount of
viral load in small droplets that cause aerosol infection is only 0.01-0.001 wt% of the total viral load in saliva.
Therefore, wearing a mask is very effective in preventing infection. However, depending on contact time and
number of people, accumulation of aerosols in space can cause aerosol infection. Therefore, it is important to
properly ventilate the space. In addition, since highly infectious mutant COVID-19 strains may enhance aerosol
infection, medical knowledge is desired.