Antimicrobial ABS Masterbatch

ABS's light weight and ability to be injection molded and extruded make it useful in manufacturing products such as drain-waste-vent (DWV) pipe systems, musical instruments, automotive trim components, automotive bumper bars, medical devices for blood access, and enclosures for electrical and electronic assemblies, etc.

This product is known as an ABS-based masterbatch containing tow groups of nanoparticles. Most particles are around 20-30 nm in size. It shows high antibacterial activity according to INSO 13703 (Plastic – Evaluation of antibacterial activity on polymeric or hydrophobic materials –Test method). Below table clarifies how high its activity against E.Coli and S.aureus bacteria is. Antibacterial activity is defined as the ability of a material to eliminate the bacterial contacting with that. It is calculated by comparison of the logarithm of the number of the bacteria in the control sample and in the corresponding sample of that material.

Extensive research has been carried out in the last decades in order to investigate possible methods to prepare antibacterial plastics. Masterbatch (MB) is a solid or liquid additive for plastic used for coloring plastics (color masterbatch) or imparting other properties to plastics (additive masterbatch). The use of masterbatches allows the factory to keep stock of fewer grades of the polymer, and to buy cheaper natural polymer in bulk. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a common thermoplastic polymer. They are tough and are impact resistance which makes them so popular in plastic industry. This material can be used as an antibacterial plastic besides taking advantages of its especial mechanical properties. The most frequently used approach to prepare antibacterial plastics is to include various organic or inorganic substances, such as tea extract, chitosan, copper, silver, zinc, etc. in polymer matrices. Nanoparticles are being used industrially for modifications to plastics. A common feature is their antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity of them has been demonstrated against human pathogenic bacteria, mainly E.Coli and S.aureus.