STTR Phase I: Marine Antifouling Deterrent Coatings for Quantum Paints

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将为美国游艇市场开发一种环境友好但高效的海洋防污涂料。该涂层是一种非杀生、污垢释放表面，不需要容器移动来获得防污垢保护。这是一种非烧蚀多模式涂层，当船只静止时，它将阻止海洋幼虫定居，并将在航行中通过自清洁(例如，污垢释放)消除任何附着的海洋生物，例如藤壶。这项创新的商业影响将是通过提高燃料效率和可能扩展到更多的市场来减少不可再生资源的消耗。这样的额外市场将包括商船、海军舰艇、桥梁、风车等，同时成功地减少海洋环境中的有害化学物质。预计这些涂料的市场在未来四年内将翻一番，目前市场规模为102亿美元。这项开发工作的发现也将被纳入以研究为基础的教育计划。该项目的智力价值在于开发了一种很有前途的类似去甲肾上腺素(NA)分子的合成螺杆菌多肽。现有技术已经表明，当NA结合到表面(或作为覆盖表面的涂层的一部分)时，可以阻止污染的海洋无脊椎动物沉降，从而防止生物污染。使用基于刀豆肽的系统的另一个明显优势是它们在海洋环境中的稳定性。目前的努力集中在提高这些分子的功效和防污性能上。第一阶段的研究目标是：(1)将生物活性椰子肽添加剂与目前的防污涂料相结合；(2)通过生物测试来证明防污效果和概念验证；(3)开发用于海洋现场试验的批量放大涂料。这些结果将有助于设计新的测试涂层，用于海洋环境的放大和测试。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an environmentally benign yet highly effective marine antifouling coating for the American yacht market. The coating is a non-biocidal, foul release surface which does not require the vessel to move to obtain antifouling protection. It is a non-ablative multi-modal coating that will deter settling marine larvae when the vessel is stationary and will eliminate any attached marine organisms, such as barnacles through self-cleaning (e.g. fouling release) while underway. The commercial impact of the innovation will be in reducing consumption of non-renewable resources through increased fuel efficiency and possible expansion into additional markets. Such additional markets would include those for commercial vessels, Navy vessels, bridges, windmills, etc., while successfully reducing harmful chemicals in the marine environment. The market for these coatings is expected to double in the next four years, currently being at $10.2 billion. The findings from this development work will also be incorporated into research based educational programs. The intellectual merit of this project is the development of a promising synthetic conopeptide analog to the noradrenaline (NA) molecule. Prior art has shown that NA, when bound to a surface (or included as part of a coating covering a surface), deters fouling marine invertebrates from settling, thus preventing biofouling. Another distinct advantage of using conopeptide based systems is their stability in the marine environment. The current efforts are focused upon improving the efficacy and antifouling performance of these molecules. The phase I research objectives are (1) conjugation of the bioactive conopeptide additive to the current foul release coating; (2) demonstration of antifouling efficacy and proof of concept by bioassay; (3) development of batch coatings for scale-up for marine field tests. The results will be useful for designing new test coatings for scale up and testing in the marine environment.