How can you determine antimicrobial activity?
Indeed, most of you have already known that the ASTM E2149 is a sensitive test. This particular method stands for “determining the Antimicrobial Activity of Immobilized Antimicrobial Agents Under Dynamic Contact Conditions”. Usually, such tests measure various antimicrobial activities, including non-leaching, hydrophobic surfaces, and more.
What are the standard test methods?
The standard test methods for ASTM E2149 is used in evaluating the effectiveness of specific samples that are earlier treated by shaking in some non-leaching antimicrobial agent in an organism suspension.
It’s undeniable that this particular test is specifically designed for evaluating the resistance of specimens under dynamic contact conditions with a non-leaching antimicrobial agent to microbial growth.
The standard test methods were developed for screening tests and routine quality control and for evaluating the substrate-bound antimicrobials.
It is crucial to ensure good contact between the bacteria and the treated fabric, fibre, or other substrates, so the samples are appropriately shaken using dynamic shake flasks. Also, during the test period, there has to be constant agitation of the specimen that has to be tested in a bacterial suspension.
The bonded materials or the Immobilized antimicrobial agents under normal conditions are not accessible for diffusion in their environment. Using this particular test, one could ensure good contact between bacteria and the fibres treated with constant agitation as the test specimen. The ongoing turmoil of the thread is done during the test period, which is approximately 1 hour in a bacterial suspension.
Strengths and weaknesses of ASTM E2149 Test method
Strengths
This particular method generally helps specify the concentration of the target initial microbial, which allows for a fair comparison for several antimicrobial products.
Amazingly, the method showcases the experimental flexibility that makes sure to gain the trust of other researchers who’d use this particular method for doing the test for antimicrobial products of different shapes and sizes.
Weaknesses
You’d be amazed to note that the result for such a test usually varies as it depends on the time of contact chosen for the study. Also, there's a vast difference between the antimicrobial surface passing at one hour of communication and the one giving at 24 hours contact as the earlier is more effective than the latter.
Interestingly, out of several laboratory tests and experiments, the one called Microchem Laboratory’s experience does not produce an appropriate antimicrobial effect after several products passed through this particular test even in several realistic situations.
Winding Up
I hope you’ve got quality information regarding the fantastic test method from this article. Every experiment inevitably has its drawbacks, and therefore this particular method has one too, as it relies entirely on the industry. You could set up a custom test if your company's antimicrobial products seem efficacy.
Also Read - Antiviral testing laboratory for crucial tests.
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