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Anionic polyelectrolytes are used as binding agents to reduce the solubility of cationic antimicrobial polyelectrolytes. Ionic attraction between the anionic stabilizing polyelectrolytes and the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolytes results in formation of a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). A treatm

Anionic polyelectrolytes are used as binding agents to reduce the solubility of cationic antimicrobial polyelectrolytes. Ionic attraction between the anionic stabilizing polyelectrolytes and the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolytes results in formation of a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). A treatment liquid comprising a stable colloid, suspension, dispersion, solution, coacervate, or emulsion of the PEC in an aqueous carrier is used to treat an article, thus coating, infiltrating, or infusing the PEC onto or into the article. Subsequent drying results in an antimicrobial article wherein the PEC is bound to the article and is significantly less prone, relative to either of the component polyelectrolytes, to being washed, leached, leaked, extracted, or migrated from the antimicrobial article during use, or when exposed to aqueous fluids or solvents. The antimicrobial article can be further treated with ethylene oxide which enhances its antimicrobial efficacy, its biocompatibility, and its utility in wound dressings, medical devices, clothing, etc.

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1. A method of preparing an antimicrobial article which comprises the steps of a. providing a treatment liquid consisting essentially of a stable aqueous solution, colloid, suspension, dispersion, coacervate, or emulsion of a polyelectrolyte complex, PEC, prepared by mixing an aqueous solution of an

1. A method of preparing an antimicrobial article which comprises the steps of a. providing a treatment liquid consisting essentially of a stable aqueous solution, colloid, suspension, dispersion, coacervate, or emulsion of a polyelectrolyte complex, PEC, prepared by mixing an aqueous solution of an anionic polyelectrolyte consisting essentially of a derivative or copolymer of poly(acrylic acid) or polystyrene sulfonate producing a concentration of 0.025 to 0.20 weight percent in said treatment liquid, with a stoichiometric excess of an aqueous solution of an antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte consisting essentially of a quaternary ammonium polymer or a quaternary ammonium copolymer producing a concentration of 0.10 to 0.50 weight percent in said treatment liquid, wherein the molar ratio of charge sites in said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte relative to charge sites in said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 1:1 and 2:1, and wherein said anionic polyelectrolyte and said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte have been mixed in a controlled manner to produce said PEC which remains evenly dispersed in said treatment liquid, and wherein there is no significant or non-reversible phase separation, coagulation, or formation of solids, precipitates, flocs, agglomerates, or particles of said PEC during the normal storage or usage of the treatment liquid,b. applying said treatment liquid to an article, followed by,c. drying the treated article, whereby PEC is non-leachably bound to the resulting antimicrobial article. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of rinsing the antimicrobial article after the drying step. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of treating the antimicrobial article with ethylene oxide, whereby the antimicrobial efficacy of the antimicrobial article is increased. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of testing to verify that the antimicrobial article has non-leaching antimicrobial properties. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said testing is selected from the group consisting of microbiological assays, in-vivo assays, in-vitro assays, dye tests, spectroscopy, colorimetry, and measurement of surface charge. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of testing to verify that the antimicrobial article is biocompatible. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said testing is selected from the group consisting of cytotoxicity, irritation, and sensitization tests. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the average molecular weight of said anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 20,000 and 75,000, and wherein the average molecular weight of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is at least 50,000. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the average molecular weight of said anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 20,000 and 75,000, and wherein the average molecular weight of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is more than 200,000. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the concentration of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte in said treatment liquid is between 0.20 and 0.30 weight percent. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the concentration of said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 0.07 weight percent and 0.14 weight percent. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein a minimum of 3-log average reduction of the population of viable Staphylococcus aureus in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum is obtained, when said antimicrobial article is tested using ATCC Method 100. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein an extract derived from the antimicrobial article prepared according to ISO standard method 10993-12 contains less than 100 ppm of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of charge sites in the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte and the charge sites in the anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 1.3:1 and 2:1. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), also known as polyDADMAC, and the anionic polyelectrolyte is a sodium, potassium, lithium, or ammonium salt of poly(acrylic acid). 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is polyDADMAC, the anionic polyelectrolyte is the sodium salt of poly(acrylic acid), and the antimicrobial article comprises cotton or rayon. 17. An antimicrobial article, comprising an article, an antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte, and an anionic polyelectrolyte, prepared by the process of claim 1. 18. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein said antimicrobial article is comprised of materials selected from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose derivatives, paper, wood, wood pulp, microbially-derived cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, rayon, cotton, wood pulp, linen, polysaccharide, protein, wool, collagen, gelatin, chitin, chitosan, alginate, starch, silk, polyolefin, polyamide, fluoropolymer, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, rubber, polylactide, polyglycolide, acrylic, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, polyester, polyurethane, and silicone. 19. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride, also known as polyDADMAC. 20. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein the anionic polyelectrolyte is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, lithium, or ammonium salts of poly(acrylic acid) and its derivatives or copolymers. 21. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is polyDADMAC, and the anionic polyelectrolyte is the sodium salt of poly(acrylic acid). 22. The antimicrobial article of claim 21, wherein said antimicrobial article further comprises cotton or rayon. 23. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, comprising an article, an antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte, and an anionic polyelectrolyte, wherein the molar ratio of charge sites in the antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte to the charge sites in the anionic polyelectrolyte is between 1.3:1 and 2:1. 24. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein the average degree of polymerization of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is in the range of about 10 to 10,000. 25. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein the average degree of polymerization of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is in the range of about 100 to 5,000. 26. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein the concentration of antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte in said antimicrobial article is between 0.01 w/o and 1.0 weight percent. 27. The antimicrobial article of claim 18, wherein said antimicrobial article is a wound dressing, medical device, or clothing. 28. The antimicrobial article of claim 17, wherein said antimicrobial article is further treated with ethylene oxide, whereby the antimicrobial efficacy of said antimicrobial article is increased. 29. A method of preparing a treatment liquid which comprises the step of a. mixing, in a controlled manner, an aqueous solution of an anionic polyelectrolyte consisting essentially of a derivative or copolymer of poly(acrylic acid) or polystyrene sulfonate having a concentration of 0.025 to 0.20 weight percent in the treatment liquid, and a stoichiometric excess of an aqueous solution of an antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte consisting essentially of a quaternary ammonium polymer or a quaternary ammonium copolymer having a concentration of 0.10 to 0.5 weight percent in the treatment liquid, wherein the molar ratio of charge sites in said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte relative to charge sites in said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 1:1 and 2:1, to produce a treatment liquid consisting essentially of a stable aqueous solution, colloid, suspension, dispersion, coacervate, or emulsion of a polyelectrolyte complex, PEC which remains evenly dispersed in said treatment liquid, and wherein there is no significant or non-reversible phase separation, coagulation, or formation of solids, precipitates, flocs, agglomerates, or particles of said PEC during the normal storage usage of the treatment liquid. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the molar ratio of charge sites in said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte relative to the charge sites in said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 1.3:1 and 2:1. 31. The method of claim 29, wherein the concentration of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte in said treatment liquid is between 0.20 and 0.30 weight percent. 32. The method of claim 29, wherein the concentration of said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 0.07 and 0.14 weight percent. 33. The method of claim 29, wherein said mixing in is by stirring, shaking, homogenization, blending, sonication or high-shear mixing. 34. The method of claim 29, wherein said treatment liquid has a pH between 8 and 10. 35. A treatment liquid made by the process of claim 29. 36. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the ratio of charge sites in said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte to the charge sites in said anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 1.3:1 and 2:1. 37. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the average molecular weight of said anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 20,000 and 75,000, wherein the average molecular weight of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is at least 50,000. 38. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the average molecular weight of said anionic polyelectrolyte is within the range of 20,000 and 75,000, wherein the average molecular weight of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte is at more than 200,000. 39. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the concentration of said antimicrobial cationic polyelectrolyte in said treatment liquid is between 0.20 and 0.30 weight percent. 40. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the concentration of said anionic polyelectrolyte is between 0.07 and 0.14 weight percent. 41. The treatment liquid of claim 35, wherein the pH of said treatment liquid is between 8 and 10.