SSL_AntiVir - Antiviral nanocoatings for air filtration and frequently touched surfaces

针对Covid-19的疫苗可能需要18个多月的时间才能上市，但与此同时，我们需要一种解除限制并遏制病毒传播的方法。一种潜在的临时解决方案是一种能够在接触时破坏SARS-CoV-2的技术，这种技术可用于处理表面和空气过滤器，从而防止两种已知的传播途径：表面和飞沫。当我们抓住公共汽车的扶手或购物手推车的把手时，我们不知道在我们之前有多少人接触过它。导致Covid-19的SARS-CoV-2病毒在铜上可存活4小时，在纸板上可存活24小时，在塑料和不锈钢上可存活2至3天。我们已经开发出一种抗菌涂层，能够在两秒钟内消灭接触的病毒、细菌和真菌。现有的抗菌涂层倾向于使用银或铜，但这些都很昂贵，对环境有毒，最重要的是，需要几个小时才能灭活微生物。该涂层已被证明对导致COVID-19大流行的SARS-CoV-2病毒有效，当与涂层表面接触时，可杀死99.9%的病毒。因此，它有可能为减少Covid-19的传播做出重大贡献。智能分离公司正在研究几个产品实施例，这些产品将被涂上这种抗菌涂层。英国的拨款将支持将其中一种产品推向市场的最后和必要步骤——一种名为Gino的个人空气消毒剂，它有一个涂层陶瓷可洗过滤器。当被细菌和病毒污染的空气与过滤器表面接触时，微生物就会像气球接触仙人掌一样破裂。SSL需要证明Gino的安全性和有效性，以便为走向商业化提供一个安全的基础。这种空气消毒剂的影响超出了当前的大流行，因为抗菌涂层可以摧毁除COVID-19病毒外的几种病原体。

It may take more than 18 months for a vaccine against Covid-19 to become available but in the meantime we need a way to lift restrictions and contain viral transmission. A potential interim solution would be a technology capable of destroying SARS-CoV-2 on contact that could be used to treat surfaces and air filters, therefore preventing the two known transmission routes: surfaces and droplets.When we grab a handrail in a bus or the handle of a shopping trolley, we have no idea about how many contagious people have touched it before us. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, survives up to four hours on copper, up to 24h on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.We have developed an antimicrobial coating capable of destroying viruses, bacteria and fungi on contact in under two seconds. Existing antimicrobial coatings tend to use silver or copper but these are expensive, toxic to the environment and, most importantly, take several hours to inactivate microorganisms.The coating has been shown to be effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 pandemic, killing 99.9% of the virus when put in contact with coated surfaces. As such it has the potential to make a substantial contribution to reducing the transmission of Covid-19.Smart Separations is working on several product embodiments that will be coated with this antimicrobial coating. The IUK grant will support the last and essential steps to take one of these products to market - a personal air sanitiser, called Gino, which has a coated ceramic washable filter. When air contaminated with bacteria and virus get in contact with the surface of the filter the microbes burst like balloons do, when they touch a cactus. SSL needs to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of Gino in order to provide a secure basis for moving forward to commercialization. The impact of this air sanitizer goes beyond the current pandemic, as the antimicrobial coating destroys several types of pathogens besides COVID-19 virus.