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保而高效的海洋涂层。该涂层是一种非生物杀灭的污垢释放表面，不需要移动容器来获得污垢保护。这是一种非烧蚀性多模式涂层，当船舶静止时，它将阻止海洋幼虫沉降，并在航行时通过自清洁（例如污垢释放）消除任何附着的海洋生物，例如藤壶。创新的商业影响将是通过提高燃料效率和可能扩展到其他市场来减少不可再生资源的消耗。这些额外的市场将包括商用船舶、海军船舶、桥梁、风车等，同时成功地减少了海洋环境中的有害化学物质。这些涂料的市场预计将在未来四年翻一番，目前为102亿美元。这项开发工作的结果也将纳入以研究为基础的教育方案。该项目的智力价值是开发一种有前途的去甲肾上腺素（NA）分子的合成芋螺肽类似物。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被包括在内）时，阻止污染的海洋无脊椎动物沉降，从而防止生物污染。使用基于芋螺肽的系统的另一个明显优点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抗肿瘤性能。第一阶段的研究目标是（1）将生物活性芋螺肽添加剂结合到当前的防污涂料中;（2）通过生物测定证明防污功效和概念验证;（3）开发用于海洋现场试验的批量涂料。研究结果将有助于设计新的测试涂料，用于扩大规模和在海洋环境中的测试。

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.