Patent ID: 7258804

Claim:
A method for inhibiting growth of microbes in a liquid, comprising the steps of; a. providing a container for holding a liquid having a pH equal to or greater than about 2.5, said container having an internal surface having a polymeric layer thereon, said polymeric layer having an ion sequestering agent provided on at least a portion of said internal surface for removing designated metal ions from said liquid to inhibit growth of said microbes, said metal-ion sequestering agent comprises derivatized nanoparticles comprising inorganic nanoparticles having an attached metal-ion sequestrant, wherein said inorganic nanoparticles have an average particle size of less than 200 nm and the derivatized nanoparticles have a stability constant greater than 10 10 with iron (III), said metal-ion sequestering agent is immobilized in said polymeric layer and comprises 0.1 to 50.0% by weight of the polymeric layer, and the polymeric layer contacts the liquid contained therein and is permeable to water; b. filling said container with said liquid in an open environment; c. closing said container with said liquid contained therein; and d. shipping said container for use of said liquid without any further processing of said container containing said liquid.