Colored antimicrobial vulcanized rubber articles

Abstract

Certain non-silicone vulcanized rubber articles made from at least a majority by weight of ethylene-propylene-diene modified (terpolymer) rubber (such as, without limitation, EPDM and/or NBR) that include silver-based compounds to provide highly desirable long-term antimicrobial characteristics within the cured rubber articles, at least a portion of which exhibits a color other than black, are provided. Such articles are in either solid or blown (foam or sponge) state (or combinations of both in multilayered forms, either all colored or individual layers colored) that can be utilized in a variety of different applications. As silver-based compounds are deleteriously affected by utilization of standard curing agents and curing accelerators, such as sulfur-based compounds and/or systems, the ability to provide such an effective antimicrobial vulcanized rubber article is rather difficult. However, this invention encompasses the presence of different non-sulfur-based curing systems and agents, such as peroxides, as one example, that permit vulcanization and do not irreversibly bind silver ions thereto, thereby resulting in long-term antimicrobial performance of the ultimate rubber article itself. The rubber articles must also comprise fillers and may also include plasticizers to provide desired characteristics of dimensional stability, stiffness, flexural modulus, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, elongation, and the like, for the ultimate rubber article, while simultaneously and surprisingly both enhancing the control of antimicrobial efficacy of the rubber article and not deleteriously binding to the available silver to permit coloring of the target rubber as well.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.