Got them "antimicrobials in my boots" blues

Bought a pair of hiking boots today and noticed that they had "Microbe Shield" on them. I couldn't resist - I had to find out what they were doing that made it antimicrobial. Obviously with something like a boot you don't exactly impregnate it with ampicillin. Here's what I found out about that

The companie's name is Aegis. They've synthesized an interesting molecule that has 3 main components. The first part of the molecule is bound to the material. The second part of the molecule is positively charged and therefore attracts the negatively charged bacteria to it (quiz - what makes the bacterial wall negatively charged?). The third part of the molecule is rigid and "stabs" the cell. The molecule doesn't get consumed in the interaction therefore it can act for a long time.

They have an interesting interactive about the mode of action of the molecule at:

http://www.microbeshield.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=3

update 3/15/13 - looks like the business has been restructured

http://www.microban.com/americas/english

the tech video can now be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQy0AunWGo