NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, March 10, 2001

AK Steel of Middletown, Ohio, and AgION Technologies of Boston are constructing an 11,000-square-foot house using steel coated with a patented anti-microbial compound made of silver zeolite. Zeolite, commonly used in water softeners, acts as a chemical pump that slowly releases silver ion, a well-known anti-microbial agent, according to an AgION white paper.

Bacteria are less likely to develop resistance to disinfectants such as silver than to antibiotics such as penicillin.

The home, located outside Los Angeles, will be made of steel from frame to roof, said project architect David Martin.

"Frames, studs, roof, handrails, doorknobs, faucets, kitchen surfaces – it will all be steel coated with this AgION material," Martin told United Press International.

Martin and his firm, AC Martin Partners, have never before designed a structure that incorporates microbial resistance directly into the building materials.

"This is interesting for us purely as a research project," Martin said.

The vice president of AK Steel sees commercial applications for the AgION steel. "The areas with the most potential are ventilation systems, food prep surfaces, and galvanized steel ductwork," Alan McCoy told UPI.

Ravi Bhatkal, strategy vice president for AgION, concurred. "We have received regulatory approval for the use of AgION coatings in a wide variety of products, including everything from ice machines to medical implants," Bhatkal told UPI.

But Doug Holt, chairman of the University of Missouri Food Science Department, expressed hesitation about the cost of AgION's coating.

"Silver's an expensive resource," Holt told UPI. "I can't see how the cost-benefits weigh in favor of using silver ions over simply keeping the surfaces clean," he said.

McCoy was uncertain as to how much cost the AgION coating added to steel products. "It's really premature to talk about that," McCoy said. "The whole process is pretty experimental at this point."

Holt believes that silver ion can be used safely to coat food-preparation surfaces.

But he wondered aloud at the long-term viability of a coating that would be subjected to chlorinated detergents and other abrasives.

"I see lots of stainless steel get abused," Holt told UPI. "The surfaces get pitted when people overuse cleaning compounds that contain chlorine. Since chlorine and silver can combine to form silver chloride, this might reduce the long-term life of the silver zeolite coating."

Industrial hygienist Roy Parsons, who oversees safety issues related to infectious organisms at the University of Missouri, questions the benefits of steel coated with any kind of disinfectant.

"Coating steel with something that prevents microbe growth sounds like a sales gimmick to me," Parsons told UPI. "Steel is so easy to clean – I think that has to be your first, last and best line of defense against microbes and molds."

AgION, however, is clear in company statements that the anti-germ coat is no substitute for cleanliness and good hygiene.

Dr. Dale Everett, infectious disease specialist at the University of Missouri Hospital, notes that silver is a commonly used anti-germ agent, but with mixed results.

"Silver ion is noted for its anti-bacterial properties," Everett told UPI. "But it's received a mixed review in use with humans, particularly in vein and urinary catheters."

Everett believes that useful applications for the AgION-coated steel may be found in artificial prosthetics.

"Something like this, where the ion is released over time, really needs to be used in an environment where exposures are long term," Everett said. "Prosthetics are long-term implants that get infected frequently. This anti-microbial steel could be very helpful there."

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.