4 Dec 2009

Antibacterial door handles break down harmful bacteria

In collaboration with Polygiene, ASSA has developed a door handle that effectively breaks down bacteria. It features Addion, an antibacterial surface coating with a wear-resistant metallic surface, which breaks down bacteria significantly faster than other surface coatings such as nickel, chrome, brass and stainless steel.

The past ten years have seen a dramatic rise in bacteria that cannot be treated with regular antibiotics. Studies show that multiresistant bacteria are primarily spread via hands and contact surfaces.¹

That’s why ASSA and Polygiene (of the Perstorp Group) developed an antibacterial surface coating with enough wear resistance that it can be used in environments with large flows of people, and environments in which bacteria are spread extensively.

Another environment where it is desirable to reduce the spread of bacteria is in schools and childcare. Working actively with this can cut down on sick leave, which will benefit society as a whole. The St. Petri School in Malmö, Sweden, has already chosen Addion handles.

“When we totally renovated the school, we discussed several handle solutions,” says superintendent Per-Åke Brodin at the St. Petri School in Malmö. “We opted for ASSA’s antibacterial door handles. We replaced all handles in the school, and that reduced the spread of infection in the flu season, keeping our sick-leave figures low.”

Addion’s antibacterial properties combined with its superb wear resistance contribute to long-lasting protection against the spread of bacteria.




1) Importance of the environment in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus acquisition: the case for the hospital cleaning, Dr Stephanie j Dancer MD. The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2008;8:101-113