Colloidal antimicrobial and anti-biofouling coatings for surfaces

A method of producing antimicrobial and anti-biofouling coating for application to nonporous surfaces, porous membranes or porous materials, comprising:

• preparing an antimicrobial and anti-fouling formulation by the steps of:
• preparing an aqueous solution containing one or more active polymers, wherein the one or more active polymers are selected from the group consisting of polyquaternium, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB);
• adding biocides or solvents into the aqueous solution of active polymers;
• preparing an emulsion having a hollow round colloidal structure comprising adding a stabilizer mixture containing one and more surfactants to the biocides or solvents and solution of active polymers to form the antimicrobial and anti-biofouling formulation;
• and
• preparing the antimicrobial and anti-biofouling coating from the antimicrobial and anti-biofouling formulation;
• and
• applying the antimicrobial and anti-biofouling coating on nonporous surfaces, porous membranes or porous materials.

An antimicrobial and anti-biofouling coating formulation, comprising:

• a hollow round colloidal structure, comprising:
• an active polymer shell;
• and
• an active core, wherein the core contains one or more disinfectants, biocides and fragrances,
• wherein the active polymer shell comprises 0.0001-5% (w/v) polyethylenimine (PEI) having a mw of 1,200-60,000 g/mol, 0.05-3% (w/v) polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) having a mw of 2,000-2,600 g/mol, and 0.01-20% (w/v) of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) having a mw of 250,000-350,000 g/mol, and wherein the active core contains 0.01-1.5% (w/v) of thyme oil, 0.01-1.5% (w/v) of farnesol, 0.05-1.5% (w/v) of cinnamaldehyde,
• wherein the core is active and contains one or more disinfectants, biocides and fragrances,
• wherein the hollow round colloidal structure is stable for at least 3 months.