The present invention provides novel antimicrobial immobilized 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one/zinc oxide (BIT/ZnO) complexes useful as antimicrobial agents because of their resistance to being leached from the substrate to which they are attached. The present invention is also directed to methods for preparing the BIT/ZnO complexes, to BIT/ZnO complexes prepared by the novel methods, to methods for using the BIT/ZnO complexes to inhibit microbial growth or reduce the level of bacteria on the surface of a substrate, and to substrates protected from microbial attack by being treated with the BIT/ZnO complexes. The present invention is further directed to compositions comprising 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one which has been immobilized with zinc oxide.
