Development of antimicrobial coatings with transparent, universal, and UV-crosslinkable polymers

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Contamination of solid surfaces represents a major route of infection and transmission of infectious air-borne, food-borne, and hospital-borne diseases. Currently, alcohol-based sanitizer, UV radiation, and disinfectant methods are widely used in many contaminated surfaces of medical masks/respirators, medical equipment and supplies, touchscreens, and food/pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities against harmful contaminants. While effective in deactivating biological contaminants on the surface, it is impossible to prevent unwanted contamination of the surface from the repeated direct contacts with the contaminated hands. Furthermore, the bacteria/virus can survive anywhere from a few hours to several days, raising an intrinsic concern of cross-infection and contact transmission. Therefore, development of a simple, but efficient antiseptic method for contaminated metal/plastic/glass surfaces has been considered as a key intervention technology in preventing spread of infectious diseases by contact with contaminated devices. In this research, we propose the development of a first-of-its-kind, self-sanitizing antimicrobial polymer coating that can be spray-coated on any type of substrate and is programmed to exhibit antimicrobial properties without the use of any harmful chemicals. Our approach has significant advantages as it eliminates concerns with regulatory restrictions regarding the safety and amount of biological/chemical agents used, development of bacterial resistance, and antimicrobial efficacy. Moreover, our technology can be easily translated to any type of surfaces in the form of metals, plastics, and glasses. We believe that this technology will make a significant contribution to rapid disinfection demand of industry, also to the general infection control strategy in Alberta and Canada.