Getting to Grips with Micro-Organisms

At the Banknote Conference in May, Guilmar Ernesto Moncayo Ponce from the Bank of Mexico provided information about progress on the first of a three phase project looking at the presence and role of micro-organisms on banknotes.

When the COVID pandemic happened, staff at the Bank of Mexico were sent on a three month lockdown. They noticed on their return that some banknotes in the laboratory had continued to wear while stored in the safe. This prompted the start of a study to understand how banknotes degrade, and the risk to health, due to the presence of micro-organisms.

The first phase, 2022-23, explored which micro-organisms are present. The second phase, 2023-24, is exploring the impact of those micro-organisms, and the final phase in 2025 will investigate possible mitigation.

Which micro-organisms are present?

The study is looking for ‘degraders’ and pathogens. Microscopy is being used to establish presence, microbiology viability, molecular analysis diversity and biochemistry compatibility.