Silver as fungistatic agent in paints

Investigations described in the article were done to estimate antimicrobial properties of silver preparations in decorative, waterborne paints. Several commercially available preparations were used in the research. Tests were performed for silver concentrations of 30 ppm or 40 ppm (by weight, recounted per Ag) per paint, for coatings on glass, cardboard-plaster and lignin-cement plates, before and after accelerated ageing. Estimation of antimicrobial properties was performed according to PN-85/C-89080 with necessary modifications, resulting from the type of materials tested. Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium chrysogenum isolated from the housing environment were used as test microorganisms. Results show fungistatic effectiveness of silver. This effect depends upon the type of coated surface, pH value of a surrounding media, type of moulds that inhabit the coating and upon the type of silver preparation.