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

拟议的研究将导致更彻底地确定与埃博拉病毒感染者接触的人员目前使用的防护装备的有效性或缺乏有效性。这方面的知识将使医务人员立即受益，并有助于确定适当的防护设备，以保护医务人员和其他可能接触埃博拉病毒的人。这项工作将产生新的分析系统，可集成到现有医疗防护材料的标准质量控制评估中，并允许对由Seashell Technology生产和销售的独特超级防水材料进行防护性能评估，以模拟埃博拉病毒。能够提供一种新型的、廉价的、改进的屏障，提供给受影响地区的个人，将获得显著的社会效益。在受感染地区使用这些材料将有可能大大降低埃博拉病毒的传播率，导致疫情得到控制，减少与当前疫情有关的经济后果，并减少死亡和痛苦。这些相同的材料将对控制未来潜在的埃博拉疫情有重大好处。本研究项目的目标是通过单独的光学可追踪埃博拉病毒模拟物确定医学上相关的穿透屏障的保护性能。这将为增加可用于研究这类致命病毒的工具提供机会。提出的这项工作有很大的潜力，可以提高我们对埃博拉病毒传播和阻止病毒渗透的防护设备类型的认识。埃博拉病毒具有独特的杆状形态，与任何其他病毒株不同；因此，模拟病毒屏障有效性的标准方法不能准确解释。Seashell Technology公司有能力制造可单独光学追踪的埃博拉病毒模拟物，并对这种类型的颗粒分散特性有广泛的了解，这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织物对埃博拉病毒渗透的防护性能，这种织物是用一种纳米结构涂层材料制成的，这种材料可以由Seashell Technology经济而快速地制造出来。如果这种织物能够很好地保护人们不接触埃博拉病毒，就有机会向受该流行病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.