examples of the present invention will now be described in detail . to 10 l of distilled water were added 1 . 0 kg of hydroxyapatite , 32 g of silver nitrate and 69 g of zinc nitrate , followed by stirring . this resultant state in dried cake like form , was washed thoroughly with distilled water , dried and a portion thereof was powdered to provide an antibacterial hydroxyapatite ( 1 -- 1 ) containing approx 2 % silver and about 1 . 5 % zinc . the remaining portion was heat fired at 1200 ° c . and powdered to provide antibacterial hydroxyapatite ( 1 - 2 ) carrying approx 2 % silver and about 1 . 5 % zinc . to 10 l of distilled water were added 1 . 0 kg of tricalcium phosphate , 30 g of silver nitrate and 45 g of zinc nitrate , followed by stirring . this resultant state in cake like form was washed thoroughly with distilled water , dried and a portion thereof was powdered to provide antibacterial tricalcium phosphate ( 2 - 1 ) containing approx 0 . 8 % silver and about 1 % zinc . the remaining portion was heat fired at 1100 ° c . and powdered to provide antibacterial tricalcium phosphate ( 2 -- 2 ) carrying approx 0 . 5 % silver and about 1 % zinc . to 10 l of distilled water were added 1 . 0 kg of calcium carbonate and 0 . 01 g of silver nitrate , which was followed by stirring . this state in cake like form was washed thoroughly with distilled water , dried and a portion thereof was powdered to provide antibacterial calcium carbonate ( 3 - 1 ) containing approx 0 . 001 % silver . the remaining portion was heat fired at 800 ° c . and powdered to provide antibacterial calcium carbonate ( 3 - 2 ) carrying about 0 . 0001 % silver . to 10 l of distilled water were added 1 . 0 kg of calcium silicate , 180 g of silver nitrate and 200 g of copper nitrate , which was followed by stirring while boiling . this state in cake like form was washed thoroughly with distilled water , dried and a portion thereof was powdered to provide antibacterial calcium silicate ( 4 - 1 ) containing approx 10 % silver and about 5 % copper . the remaining portion was heat fired at 1200 ° c . and powdered to provide antibacterial calcium silicate ( 4 - 2 ) carrying approx 10 % silver and about 5 % copper . antibacterial zeolite available on the market carrying about 2 % silver and about 1 . 5 % zinc was used as a sample ( 5 ) for comparison purposes in the experiment cited hereinbelow . to 10 l of distilled water were added 1 . 0 kg of zeolite , 32 g of silver nitrate and 46 g of zinc nitrate , which was followed by stirring . this state in cake like form was washed thoroughly with distilled water , dried and a portion thereof was powdered to provide antibacterial zeolite ( 6 - 1 ) containing approx 2 % silver and about 1 % zinc . the remaining portion was heat fired at 800 ° c . and powdered to provide antibacterial zeolite ( 6 - 2 ) carrying approx 2 % silver and about 1 % zinc . the specimens 1 -- 1 through 6 - 2 mentioned above were each added to an amount of 1 g to 100 ml of distilled water , followed by stirring for 30 min . by using an atomic - absorption spectrophotometer , the metal ions or salts in each resultant solution were measured and the amount of elution was determined . ______________________________________silver ( ppm ) zinc ( ppm ) copper ( ppm ) ______________________________________1 - 1 0 . 5 0 . 21 - 2 & lt ; 0 . 01 & lt ; 0 . 22 - 1 5 . 0 0 . 42 - 2 & lt ; 0 . 01 & lt ; 0 . 23 - 1 0 . 02 -- 3 - 2 & lt ; 0 . 01 -- 4 - 1 2 . 3 -- 0 . 94 - 2 & lt ; 0 . 01 -- & lt ; 0 . 15 0 . 9 1 . 26 - 1 9 . 1 11 . 76 - 2 & lt ; 0 . 01 & lt ; 0 . 2______________________________________ ( the &# 34 ;& lt ;&# 34 ; symbol indicates less than the limit of detection .) as indicated in the table above , elution of a metal can be prevented by heat firing the ceramic containing the metal . a solution of colon bacillus was added to a phosphate buffer solutions of physiological saline to which the samples of 1 -- 1 through 2 -- 2 and 4 - 1 through 5 had been added in an amount of 0 . 1 wt .-% each and the samples of 3 - 1 , 3 - 2 in an amount of 50 wt .-% each . antibacterial effectiveness against colon bacillus was then measured . ______________________________________ 0 hrs . 24 hrs . later______________________________________1 - 1 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 11 - 2 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 12 - 1 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 12 - 2 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 13 - 1 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 13 - 2 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 14 - 1 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 14 - 2 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 15 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 16 - 1 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 16 - 2 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 & lt ; 1______________________________________ the &# 34 ;& lt ; 1 &# 34 ; indication is based on the limit of bacteria measurement and means that bacteria were not detected . white - colored antibacterial hydroxyapatite ( 1 - 2 ) and a white - colored antibacterial zeolite ( 5 ) as available on the market were placed in clear polystyrene bags , and the bags were let to stand in a room in indirect light storage situation . as a result , it was confirmed that the color of the antibacterial zeolite ( 5 ) available on the market changed to a somewhat yellowish color after half a year , and to a lemon yellow color after one year . ( it was found that the powder on the very outer surface was a darker yellow than the powder in the center of the bag .) however , the antibacterial hydroxyapatite kept its white color and exhibited no discoloration even after one year . the antibacterial zeolite ( 6 - 2 ) prepared in accordance with the method of the present invention also maintained its white color and exhibited no discoloration in like fashion . thus , it is evident that the antibacterial ceramic material obtained in accordance with the present invention not only possesses an antibacterial effectiveness equivalent to that of conventional antibacterial zeolite but further also exhibits virtually no elution of the metal ion or metal salts and does not change color even over very long periods of time . the antibacterial ceramic material according to the present invention is highly resistant to heat and exhibits excellent dispersibility and therefore can be used in a wide range of fields upon being added to a fiber , plastic , paper or ceramic etc . since there is no detectable elution of metal or metal ion or metal salts , the antibacterial ceramic material of this invention can be used especially in fields that require a high level of safety , such as in the fields of cosmetics , pharmaceuticals , food packaging , medical instruments and biological materials . in particular , since there is no elution of metal or metal ion or metal salts and no decline in the antibacterial effectiveness even in boiling water , the antibacterial ceramic material of this invention can be used in packing materials that undergo boiling or steam sterilization or in water purifiers that employ hot water . as many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims .
an antibacterial ceramic material wherein at least one ceramic selected from the group consisting of hydroxyapatite , calcium phosphate , calcium hydrogen phosphate , calcium carbonate , calcium silicate and zeolite is made to absorb and tightly retain at least one liquified metal salt selected from the group consisting of salts of silver , copper and zinc , after which heat firing at elevated temperatures is performed .