There are at least four private companies in the United States that are the primary manufacturers of Silane-Quats, which are widely known by various names such as Quat-Silane, SiQuats, Si-Qacs, Organosilane and Sil-Quats.
Current manufacturing methods produce concentrated Silane-Quats that range from 42% to 72% active ingredient by weight, with the remainder of the formulation being silanes, alkylamines and methanol.
[citation needed] In manufactured concentrated state, Silane-Quat is referred to as: 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride In a diluted or hydrolyzed state in formulation it is referred to as: 3-(trihydroxysilyl) propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride The composition of Silane-Quat is a long chain molecule with three basic parts: a silane base for covalent bonding to surfaces, a centrally located positively charged nitrogen component and a long chain "spear" consisting of a methyl hydrocarbon group.
Many smaller items are manufactured using antimicrobial raw materials like paints, mousepads, bath towels, footwear and athletic clothing.
In recent years there have been several clinical research studies involving medical implants and other surgical items that have been manufactured using Silane-Quats in order to reduce the occurrence of post operative infection.
[citation needed] Silane-Quats are widely applied to homes and public areas such as offices, hospticals and schools as a preventative antimicrobial.
[citation needed] Silane-Quat differs in that it utilizes an electro-mechanical method in a dry state to neutralize microorganisms before they can colonize a surface.
As a microbe comes in contact with the bonded Silane-Quat molecule, the carbon based spear which consists of the methyl hydrocarbon grouping pierces the membrane of the microorganism.
This method of efficacy is very effective and versatile however due to the constant presence of dead biofilm, surfaces must be adequately maintained in order to keep the hydrocarbon molecules exposed so that they can do their work.
The results concluded that approximately 80 abrasion passes combined with chemicals such as 2000ppm bleach was enough to cause the Silane-Quat coating to begin fail and fall below a 99.9% kill.
[citation needed] In direct contrast, the unabraded samples were shown to have efficacy of up to 6 weeks against microorganisms like Phi6, a bacteriophage surrogate for Covid19, at a log kill of >99.9%.