FAQs2020-04-01T17:30:29+11:00
Does Sure Shield contain alcohol?2020-04-01T21:28:01+11:00

No, Sure Shield does not contain any alcohol – it contains the same ingredient used in many hospital disinfectants and antimicrobial products: a Quaternary Ammonium Compound. There are many, many other ingredients that kill germs other than alcohol – and alcohol is unavailable in large enough quantities to supply the global demand right now.

To make sure it’s kind to skin, we’ve added Glycerine for it’s softening and protective properties.

Does Sure Shield contain over 60% alcohol?2020-04-01T21:27:51+11:00

No, Sure Shield does not contain any alcohol – it contains the same ingredient used in many hospital disinfectants and antimicrobial products: a Quaternary Ammonium Compound. There are many, many other ingredients that kill germs other than alcohol – and alcohol is unavailable in large enough quantities to supply the global demand right now.

To make sure it’s kind to skin, we’ve added Glycerine for it’s softening and protective properties.

Is the Sure Shield Hand Sanitiser a gel or a runny liquid?2020-04-01T21:27:41+11:00

It’s a runny liquid, so you can decant it into a spray pack or foaming pump or pelican pump pack. Some people put some in old spectacle lens cleaner pump packs – small enough to pop in a pocket or bag and have with you all day!

How does Quaternary Ammonium Compound work and what makes you think it’s enough to effectively sanitise hands?2020-04-01T21:27:32+11:00

Quaternary ammonium compounds are cationic detergent, as well as disinfectants and are commonly used to emulsify and remove organic material.

They are also known to be effective against fungi, amoebas and enveloped viruses. Quaternary ammonium compounds are believed to act by disrupting the cell membrane or viral envelope and are lethal to a wide variety of organisms.

Excerpt from an article “How we know disinfectants should kill the COVID-19 coronavirus”, by Kerri Jansen March 13, 2020, in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN):

“Alcohol-based products disintegrate the protective lipids. Quaternary ammonium disinfectants, commonly used in healthcare and food-service industries, attack protein and lipid structures, thwarting the pathogen’s typical mode of infection. The novel virus is one of the easiest virus types to deactivate, though SARS-CoV-2–specific data are lacking”.

In her article, Jansen further reports that “Enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which rely on a protective lipid coating—are the easiest type to deactivate. In contrast with many gastrointestinal viruses like norovirus which have a tough protein shell called a capsid, viruses with this fatty wrapping are relatively vulnerable”.

Virologist Seema Lakdawala of the University of Pittsburgh describes it thus: “It’s much more sensitive. It’s sort of a wimpy protective shell”.

There are a few ways to burst this flimsy shell – and the bactericidal action of the quaternaries has been attributed to the inactivation of energy-producing enzymes, denaturation of essential cell proteins and disruption of the cell.

If you’d like to read more, here’s the link:

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-we-know-disinfectants-should-kill-

the-COVID-19-coronavirus/98/web/2020/03

So why make a hand sanitiser without alcohol?2020-04-01T21:27:21+11:00

We chose Quaternary Ammonium Compound over alcohol when we were working on this formulation last year because the long-term use of alcohol-based hand cleaning products can be distressing to the skin. We pride ourselves on our innovative approach to formulating and have an in-house chemist who’s formulated for most of the big companies throughout his career.

As there are no alcohol vapours, it’s kinder to sensitive noses.

How can a hand sanitiser without alcohol be as effective?2020-04-01T21:26:31+11:00

We are confident our formula effectively provides the condition to break the protective membrane around viruses. Quaternary Ammonium Compound has been used for decades in hospitals for its antimicrobial and disinfectant properties.

Since 2009, we’ve been developing commercial-grade cleaning products for the hospitality industry and are confident that our skilled chemist has created a great alternative to the alcohol-based products. This was one we actually had in the pipeline last year, so we haven’t made it up overnight!

Will Zexa Sure Shield Hand Sanitiser kill the corona virus/Covid19, being alcohol free?2020-04-01T21:26:20+11:00

No Hand Sanitiser manufacturers that we are aware of can categorically state that their product kills Corona Virus. It’s too new. Our Sure Shield Hand Sanitiser will perform similarly to that of an alcohol based hand sanitiser though, regarding bacterial kill rates. A virus can live for an extended time in mucus membrane. A good hand sanitiser like Zexa Sure Shield will dissolve or emulsify the membrane around a virus leaving it exposed.

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