SBIR RAPID: Filovirus Ebola Simulants to help improve the effectiveness and reliability of personal protective equipment for protection from Ebola exposure.

拟议的研究将使目前使用的防护装备对与埃博拉病毒感染者接触的人员的有效性或缺乏进行更彻底的表征。这一知识将使医务人员立即受益，并使其能够确定适当的防护设备，以保护医务人员和其他感染埃博拉病毒的人。这项工作将产生新的检测系统，可以整合到现有医疗防护材料的标准质量控制评估中，并允许对由Seasell Technology制造和销售的独特超级防水材料进行防护性能评估，以用于埃博拉模拟物。能够提供一种新的、廉价的、改进后的屏障，并向受影响地区的个人提供这种屏障，将获得显著的社会效益。在疫区使用这些材料将有可能显著降低埃博拉传播率，控制疫情，减少与当前疫情相关的经济后果，并减少死亡和痛苦。这些材料将对控制未来潜在的埃博拉疫情有重大好处。该研究项目的目标是通过单独光学跟踪的埃博拉病毒模拟物来确定与医学相关的渗透障碍的保护性能。这将提供一个机会，增加可用于研究这类致命病毒的工具。拟议中的工作具有极大的潜力，可以促进我们对埃博拉传播和将阻止病毒渗透的保护设备类型的了解。埃博拉病毒具有独特的杆状形态，不同于任何其他病毒株；因此，无法准确解释模拟病毒屏障有效性的标准方法。贝壳科技制造可单独光学跟踪的埃博拉病毒模拟物的能力，以及对此类颗粒分散特性的广泛了解，为更好地评估埃博拉病毒的潜在传播提供了独特的机会。此外，还将评估一种廉价的超级防水透气面料的预防埃博拉病毒渗透的性能，这种面料使用的是一种纳米结构涂层材料，可以由Seasell Technology经济而快速地制造。如果这种织物提供极好的保护，不受埃博拉病毒感染，就有机会向受疫情影响地区的人们提供这种保护材料，并大大减少埃博拉病毒的传播。

The proposed research will lead to a more thorough characterization of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of currently utilized protective equipment for personnel in contact with Ebola virus infected individuals. This knowledge will have immediate benefit to medical personnel and allow for the identification of suitable protective equipment that will protect both medical personnel and other persons who are subject to exposure to Ebola. This work will lead to novel assay systems that can be integrated into standard quality control assessment of existing medical protective materials, and allow for protective performance assessment of unique super water repellent materials, manufactured and sold by Seashell Technology, to Ebola simulants. A significant societal benefit will be attained by the ability to deliver a novel, inexpensive, improved barrier that can be supplied to individuals in impacted areas. The use of these materials in infected areas will have the potential to significantly lower Ebola transmission rates, lead to control of the epidemic, curtail the economic consequences associated with the current epidemic, and reduce deaths and suffering. These same materials will have significant benefit for control of future potential Ebola breakouts. The objectives of this research project are to determine the protective performance of medically relevant barriers to penetration by individually optically trackable Ebola viral simulants. This will provide an opportunity to increase the tools that can be used to study this deadly class of viruses. The work proposed has significant potential to advance our knowledge of the spread of Ebola and the types of protective equipment that will block viral penetration. The Ebola virus has a unique rod-shaped morphology, unlike any other strain of virus; therefore standard methods of modeling viral barrier effectiveness cannot be accurately interpreted. Seashell Technology's ability to manufacture the individually optically trackable Ebola viral simulants and extensive knowledge of this type of particles dispersion properties provide a unique opportunity to better assess the potential spread of Ebola. Additionally, the protective performance to Ebola penetration of an inexpensive super water repellent breathable fabric, created using a nanostructured coating material that can be economically and rapidly manufactured by Seashell Technology, will be assessed. Should this fabric provide excellent protection from Ebola exposure there is an opportunity to supply this protective material to persons in the areas impacted by the epidemic and significantly reduce the transmission of Ebola.