Applied Silver: Renewing antimicrobial textiles with each wash
Founded in 2012, Applied Silver is a US-based start-up that focuses on preventing the spread of infections through soft surfaces. The company has developed the SilvaClean platform technology, an EPA-approved water-based ionic silver additive for textiles. SilvaClean renders textiles antimicrobial through a smart micro-dosing system that attaches to commercial washing machines and dispenses silver ions during the laundry rinse cycle. Applied Silver have demonstrated through surveillance studies in 3 hospitals that their technology can decrease the rate of healthcare-associated infections by 43% when incorporated as a part of the hospital's infection prevention program.
The Innovation: Textiles are typically embedded or coated with antimicrobial additives during the manufacturing process. As such, their antimicrobial content decreases with each wash. Antimicrobial textiles can last for 50–100 washes, usually fewer. In contrast, Applied Silver's SilvaClean renews the antimicrobial silver ions every time the textile is washed.