Bank notes

Bank notes

“We need to clean up our dirty currency”
Economic Times (of India) Sep 2018

“Dirty Money: 19 bugs linked to sickness and poisoning”
Daily Mail UK, Oct 2018

“How clean is cash? Research into filthy lucre wins Ig Nobel”
Dutch News, Sep 2019

These are just some of the growing number of articles detailing how dirty the banknotes and coins in everyday circulation actually are. Bacterial species such as E-Coli and salmonella have been found on banknotes, including polymer notes.

Currently, around 170bn banknotes are issued globally by 165 central banks. Contrary to popular opinion, worldwide banknote production is not decreasing, it is actually increasing annually by 3-5%, so this is not a problem that is going away.

Varnishing paper banknotes was introduced around 25 years ago in response to the new class of polymer banknote substrates. Varnishing results in a thin protective layer printed on both sides of the banknote which increases the life of a banknote. There are now around 48bn varnished notes in circulation.

Most interestingly, banks are now using the varnishing process to explore the use of additives. Due to the well-documented issues with ‘dirty’ money, banks are adopting a ‘clean-note’ policy. One of the additives they are looking at is the use of anti-microbials to combat these issues.

For the past three years, Unilever plc (and now Penrhos Bio) have been working with Inovink; www.inovink.com, a leading developer of additives for the banking industry.

Lactam has been incorporated into a varnish and onto paper and polymer banknotes and it’s effect on bacterial adhesion assessed by an independent microbial testing laboratory.

These are just some of the growing number of articles detailing how dirty the banknotes and coins in everyday circulation actually are. Bacterial species such as E-Coli and salmonella have been found on banknotes, including polymer notes.

Currently, around 170bn banknotes are issued globally by 165 central banks. Contrary to popular opinion, worldwide banknote production is not decreasing, it is actually increasing annually by 3-5%, so this is not a problem that is going away.

Varnishing paper banknotes was introduced around 25 years ago in response to the new class of polymer banknote substrates. Varnishing results in a thin protective layer printed on both sides of the banknote which increases the life of a banknote. There are now around 48bn varnished notes in circulation.

Most interestingly, banks are now using the varnishing process to explore the use of additives. Due to the well-documented issues with ‘dirty’ money, banks are adopting a ‘clean-note’ policy. One of the additives they are looking at is the use of anti-microbials to combat these issues.

For the past three years, Unilever plc (and now Penrhos Bio) have been working with Inovink; www.inovink.com, a leading developer of additives for the banking industry.

Lactam has been incorporated into a varnish and onto paper and polymer banknotes and it’s effect on bacterial adhesion assessed by an independent microbial testing laboratory.

✓  Lactam has been added to banknote varnish with no detrimental affect to the materials or processes

✓  Presence of lactam in banknote varnish has shown to significantly hinder adhesion of bacteria

The technology is now at TRL 5.  This highly innovative product, BioNote™, is in the final stages of development and will be taken to the market by Inovink through an exclusive licence.

Penhros Bio

is a bioscience company with unique capability to safely control biofilm formation
using nature-inspired molecules.

The company was formed as a joint venture between Unilever plc and Innova Partnerships in 2019 and has exclusive licence to exploit innovative bioderived anti-biofilm technology developed by Unilever plc over the past 10 years.

Bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on surfaces represent an increasingly serious societal problem from economic and health perspectives.  Hospital surfaces & equipment, medical devices, household surfaces & appliances as well as everyday items such as clothing and banknotes are constantly challenged by microbial contamination.  
 
Biofilm formation begins when free-floating micro-organisms such as bacteria or fungi come in contact with a surface and begin to adhere.  Following adherence, biofilms then start to develop and can grow into complex 3D structures through biological communication mechanisms.
 
Penrhos Bio is developing innovative naturally derived products that are active in solving bacterial and microbial problems in the marine, textile, paper, household cleaning and medical industries. 
 
Our vision is a world free of harmful biofilms.
Bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on surfaces represent an increasingly serious societal problem from economic and health perspectives.  Hospital surfaces & equipment, medical devices, household surfaces & appliances as well as everyday items such as clothing and banknotes are constantly challenged by microbial contamination.  
 
Biofilm formation begins when free-floating micro-organisms such as bacteria or fungi come in contact with a surface and begin to adhere.  Following adherence, biofilms then start to develop and can grow into complex 3D structures through biological communication mechanisms.
 
Penrhos Bio is developing innovative naturally derived products that are active in solving bacterial and microbial problems in the marine, textile, paper, household cleaning and medical industries. 
 
Our vision is a world free of harmful biofilms.