What Makes an Antimicrobial Additive

‘Next-Generation’?

Inside Kismet’s Innovation

The Need for Next-Generation Antimicrobial Additives

Microbial threats evolve rapidly, posing persistent challenges across various environmental settings, including healthcare and food processing, workplaces, and homes. Harmful bacteria and viruses contaminate surfaces and can spread alarmingly fast. Studies show some viruses remain viable on surfaces for up to nine days, while a single contaminated doorknob can transmit pathogens to 40–60% of nearby surfaces and visitors within hours. Staphylococci and enterococci bacteria can survive for days to months after drying on commonly used hospital fabrics and plastic surfaces, such as bedrails. Unsurprisingly, approximately 1 in 31 hospital patients have an infection acquired during care, illustrating the limitations of conventional antimicrobial agents and disinfectants. These traditional approaches often lack sustained efficacy and frequently come with issues such as toxicity, environmental persistence, or the promotion of antimicrobial resistance.

Beyond surface disinfection in industries critical to public health and safety is a $9.7B antimicrobial additive market that is projected to grow to $15.8B in 2032. Key drivers include post-COVID-19 increased awareness of health and hygiene, expansion of the healthcare industry, growing concerns about food safety, rapid growth in the packaging industry, technological advances in additive manufacturing, and a shift toward more eco-friendly and sustainable additives.

Antimicrobial additives are used in a myriad of products for antimicrobial properties, odor control, preservation, and more. These products range from disinfectants to paints, coatings, packaging (most notably, food packaging), personal care and hygiene products, and dental and medical products.

Most antimicrobial additives are either quaternary ammonia compounds (QACs) or metals, predominantly silver, copper, or zinc. QACs and metals offer varying levels of efficacy depending on pathogen type (bacteria, virus or fungi), long-term stability and versatility in applications. QACs and metals are increasing under regulatory scrutiny for antimicrobial resistance and environmental impact. Antimicrobial resistance is a significant concern for public safety. In 2019, antibiotic-resistant infections were directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths worldwide and contributed to nearly 5 million deaths. Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant yeast, saw a nearly five-fold increase in reported clinical cases from 2019 to 2022.

The antimicrobial additive industry demands revolutionary transformation. Innovative nanotechnologies offer promise in a variety of ways, including safety and environmental sustainability.

Defining “Next-Generation” Antimicrobial Additives

What exactly makes an ingredient “next-generation” in the antimicrobial world? At Kismet, we define it through a set of key attributes that raise the bar for performance and usability:

• High Efficacy: A next-gen ingredient delivers broad-spectrum killing power against bacteria, viruses and fungi– including resilient bacteria strains like MRSA or hard-to-kill viruses like Norovirus. Our third-party testing and real-world results show dramatic reductions in bacteria even against hard to kill biofilms. This level of efficacy far exceeds conventional additives, ensuring pathogens have virtually no chance to survive or multiply on treated surfaces or treated articles.
• Long-Term Stability (Longevity): Next-gen antimicrobials persist in their efficacy – they keep working continuously. Many antimicrobial additives are used up in the antimicrobial action, such as silver, copper and zinc metals. The mode of action for Kismet’s innovative technology is the production of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of microbes. The powerful oxidizer targets the microbes and then turns off in the absence of microbes.
• Safety & Biocompatibility: An advanced antimicrobial must be safe for people, animals, and the environment. That means non-toxic formulations, no harsh residues, and materials that won’t trigger resistance in microbes. Next-gen ingredients often leverage biologically friendly components – for instance, naturally derived polymers or inert mineral particles – to avoid the downsides of legacy chemicals. This makes them suitable for use in sensitive settings like food contact surfaces or medical environments. Safety also extends to environmental impact: the ideal antimicrobial additive should not accumulate as a harmful pollutant. Using ingredients like biopolymers and minerals ensures a greener profile without sacrificing efficacy.
• Adaptability: A next-generation ingredient must be versatile, integrating into diverse products across industries without compromising efficacy. Whether incorporated as a durable coating on hospital equipment, blended into polymers for food packaging, or formulated into liquid disinfectants, the antimicrobial should maintain consistent performance. At Kismet, we collaborate with partners to research and develop customized antimicrobial solutions, evaluating compatibility with specific manufacturing processes and materials. This collaborative approach enables innovators across industries such as food packaging, cleaners and disinfectants, paints and coatings, chemicals, and consumer products, to name a few, to determine the feasibility and optimal integration of antimicrobial technology into their products.

In short, next-generation antimicrobial ingredients deliver enhanced efficacy, lasting protection, safety, and adaptability. Kismet Technologies achieves these essential attributes by uniquely blending advanced nanoengineering with nature-inspired chemistry.

Inside Kismet’s Antimicrobial Innovation: Chitosan and Cerium Oxide Technology

Kismet’s core technology is built on two remarkable ingredients – a naturally derived chitosan biopolymer and cerium oxide. Each is powerful on its own, but together, they create an antimicrobial solution unlike anything on the market. Here’s an inside look at why these ingredients are truly next generation:

Chitosan: Chitosan is a biopolymer derived from chitin (found in crab and shrimp shells). We chose it as a foundation for our innovation because it’s inherently antimicrobial, renewable, and safe. Importantly, chitosan is biodegradable and food-safe, opening the door to development innovations in food packaging or kitchen products where older, harsher antimicrobials are undesirable. In short, chitosan provides the safety and adaptability hallmark of Kismet’s next-gen approach.

Cerium Oxide: The second piece of Kismet’s innovation is our proprietary cerium oxide. Cerium oxide has a unique ability to switch between two oxidation states (Ce³⁺ and Ce⁴⁺) readily, and in doing so, it can generate reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) from the environment. Here’s why that matters: hydrogen peroxide is a potent disinfectant that can break down cell membranes, proteins, and genetic material of pathogens. Our technology creates micro-doses of hydrogen peroxide on demand. When a bacterium or virus comes into contact with the treated surface, the catalytic action ramps up, producing reactive oxygen that attacks the microbe’s critical structures.

Why It’s Next-Gen: The strategic combination of chitosan’s sustainable antimicrobial action with cerium oxide’s catalytic potency fulfills the criteria for next-generation antimicrobials. The result is a robust, safe, and highly adaptable antimicrobial solution suitable for numerous industry applications. Our antimicrobial technology can be formulated in different ways to suit various product requirements. We supply our antimicrobial technology as a colloidal solution that can be integrated into coatings, plastics, textiles, or liquids, to name a few. In all cases, the end product gains a next-generation antimicrobial function. This flexibility allows us to tailor the ingredient format to our partner’s needs.

By harnessing chitosan and cerium oxide, we’ve engineered ingredients that actively guard surfaces in a smarter way than ever before. And because it’s not a conventional chemical cocktail, it aligns with modern demands for sustainability and safety.

Applications Across Industries

One of the hallmarks of any next-generation technology is its impact across diverse applications. Kismet’s antimicrobial ingredients are designed as a platform that can enhance products in numerous industries. Here are a few examples of how our next-generation antimicrobials can be a game-changer:

• Food Packaging: In the food industry, safety and shelf-life are paramount. Packaging can be an active defense against microbes. By integrating our antimicrobial technology into food packaging materials, manufacturers can inhibit the growth of bacteria or mold that might otherwise spoil food or cause illness. This is especially valuable given that food contamination and recalls are costly and dangerous. The average food recall can cost a company around $10 million in direct costs. A next-generation antimicrobial ingredient like ours, which is food-safe, can serve as a last line of defense – continuously neutralizing pathogens that contact the packaging. Imagine salad bags or deli meat packaging that actively keep Listeria or E. coli at bay. Innovations like this strengthen consumer confidence through safer products but also help mitigate the financial and reputational risks associated with contamination-related recalls and outbreaks.
• Cleaners and Disinfectants: The global cleaning industry is moving beyond simple one-time kill cleaners to residual antimicrobial action – and Kismet’s technology enables exactly that. Traditional disinfectant sprays or wipes work when wet, but once you’ve wiped the surface and it dries, recontamination can occur within minutes from the next touch. By formulating cleaners with our unique antimicrobial technology, we give them a “staying power.” After application, microscopic chitosan-cerium particles anchor themselves onto surfaces. This means surfaces stay continuously self-sanitizing for hours, days, and even weeks after the initial cleaning. The benefit is huge: higher assurance of cleanliness between routine cleanings. In environments like schools, offices, or public transit, where you can’t disinfect every minute, a cleaner enhanced with a next-generation antimicrobial provides round-the-clock protection. And because our ingredients are safe, they can be integrated into household cleaners without worry about residue on kitchen counters or kids’ play areas. It’s easy to appreciate how valuable that is in, say, a daycare center during cold and flu season, or in a mass transit hub during a pandemic.
• Paints and Coatings: Imagine the walls, floors, and fixtures around you actively killing germs and deterring biofilms from taking hold. That vision can be a reality with antimicrobial paints and coatings made with Kismet’s next-generation ingredients. We can integrate our cerium oxide nanozyme into paint formulations, varnishes, or powder coatings to create hospital room walls that continuously reduce bacterial load, or doorknobs that have difficulty harboring viruses. This is especially exciting for healthcare facilities, where high-touch surfaces can be breeding grounds for infection. An antimicrobial paint on a clinic’s walls or bed rails could supplement cleaning protocols and reduce the spread of hospital-acquired infections. But the use isn’t limited to healthcare – restaurants could use antimicrobial paints in kitchens for food safety, schools and offices can coat high-traffic areas to cut down on illness spread, and even consumers might paint parts of their homes prone to moisture, with products that proactively resist microbes and mildew. From an industrial standpoint, these additives can protect infrastructure from microbial-induced damage. It’s a next-gen upgrade to materials that otherwise do nothing for hygiene.
• Industrial Materials and Chemicals: Many industrial processes and products suffer from microbial fouling or contamination – think of cutting fluids in machining that grow bacteria, RO water systems getting biofilms, or even plastic resins that might degrade from mold growth. Kismet’s antimicrobial ingredients can be formulated into additives for chemicals and polymers to address these issues. For instance, an adhesive or sealant can include our technology to ensure that the cured material resists bacterial or fungal growth over time, which is important for longevity and safety in installations. Our technology’s adaptability makes it easy to incorporate in manufacturing workflows. Ultimately, this means manufacturers of chemicals and materials can enhance their products with an antimicrobial function as a differentiator.
• Consumer Products: Consumers are increasingly interested in built-in antimicrobial features, from everyday gadgets to personal care items. Kismet’s innovative, safe, and sustainable ingredients empower brands to meet that demand. Consider the range of consumer and pet products that could benefit from next-generation antimicrobial technology: kitchen cutting boards or refrigerator interiors that won’t harbor bacteria from food residues; reusable water bottles that self-disinfect between uses; or pet bowls and toys that stay fresh and odor-free thanks to an antimicrobial surface. Appliances like humidifiers and air purifiers could have antimicrobial components to prevent mold growth inside the machine. Next-generation ingredients allow consumer product companies to market hygienic and health-conscious innovations rather than just superficial germ-resistant claims. And importantly, because our approach avoids toxic chemicals, these products remain family-safe. In a post-COVID world, consumers are more germ-aware than ever and incorporating proven antimicrobial tech can be a strong selling point – as long as it’s done scientifically sound, and transparently, which is exactly what Kismet delivers.

These examples scratch the surface of possibilities to be explored with our next-generation antimicrobial technology. From farm to factory to family home, Kismet’s ingredients are enabling cleaner, safer, and more durable products.

Collaborative Innovation: Let’s Build the Next Generation Together

Perhaps the most important aspect of Kismet Technologies’ approach is our commitment to collaborative innovation and joint development. We recognize that the value of our next-gen antimicrobial ingredients multiplies when we work hand-in-hand with industry partners to implement them in their products. Collaboration is in our DNA – and it’s also simply smart business. According to research by Frost & Sullivan, companies that collaborate effectively can improve product quality by 34% and speed up product development cycles by about 30%, while boosting overall revenue. In the realm of product development, two heads (or teams) are truly better than one.

When you partner with Kismet, you tap into a specialized, knowledgeable antimicrobial scientist team. We bring our expertise on how to optimize these ingredients for performance, and you bring intimate knowledge of your product and market requirements. This joint development approach significantly de-risks the innovation process for your company. You don’t have to start from scratch in a field outside your core competency; we’ve already spent years refining these technologies. Instead, we can work to integrate a field-proven, patent-pending technology into your next product with guidance from the people who know it best. That shortens the R&D timeline and gets you to a market-ready solution faster. It also ensures that when your product launches, it truly delivers the antimicrobial benefits desired.

Collaboration with Kismet is a dynamic, reciprocal process rooted in innovation. We engage closely with partners, listening carefully and adapting our technology to address specific product and development challenges. This synergy allows both teams to leverage their strengths and drive smarter, more effective solutions. Through co-development, partners not only gain access to cutting-edge antimicrobial expertise but also build internal knowledge that can fuel future innovations. Our objective is to foster mutually beneficial relationships—where your next-generation product comes to life and our technology finds new and meaningful applications. Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Antimicrobial Products

The complex challenges of microbial contamination today demand forward-thinking, science-driven solutions. Traditional antimicrobial ingredients are no longer sufficient to address the persistent risks posed by healthcare-associated infections, rapidly evolving viruses, and resistant bacteria. Through innovation—exemplified by Kismet’s chitosan-based and cerium oxide technologies—we now have the ability to transform everyday materials into active, enduring barriers against harmful microbes. Efficacy, longevity, safety, and versatility are no longer mutually exclusive—they are the defining qualities of truly next-generation antimicrobial solutions.

Kismet Technologies is proud to be at the forefront of this advancement. Yet the full potential of these technologies lies in strategic partnerships—with forward-looking companies ready to bring antimicrobial innovation into their product lines. We invite product developers, formulators, and industry leaders to imagine what’s possible when high-performance antimicrobial functionality is built into the core of your offerings. How might you deliver greater value, peace of mind, and product integrity to your customers?

The opportunity to shape the future of clean, safe, and resilient products is here—and we’re ready to build it together. Ready to explore what’s possible?

Contact Kismet Technologies to begin a collaboration. Let’s develop the next generation of antimicrobial products—together.