Professors at Virginia Tech develop a coating that can inactivate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 coronavirus in one hour. Results have shown that the coating is robust. It does not peel off after being slashed with a razor blade. It also retains its ability to inactivate the virus after multiple rounds of being exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and then disinfection or after being submerged in water for a week, based on the tests.
Reducing Virus by 99.9 Percent in One Hour
“The results of the tests have been outstanding,” Ducker said. When the coating is painted on glass or stainless steel, the amount of virus is reduced by 99.9 percent in one hour, compared to the uncoated sample.
“One hour is the shortest period that we have tested so far, and tests at shorter periods are ongoing,”. His expectation is that his team can inactivate the virus in minutes.
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Why not make a coating that can eradicate a virus, rather than bacteria?” “We have to use our chemical knowledge and experience of other viruses to guess what would kill it [SARS-CoV-2],” Ducker said.
Virginia Tech granted essential personnel status to Ducker, his two PhD. chemical engineering graduate students — Saeed Behzadinasab and Mohsen Hosseini — and Xu Feng from the university’s Department of Chemistry so that they could enter campus labs to make the film and test its properties.
Next, he needed to find someone who could test the coating’s effectiveness. Through an internet search, Ducker found Poon, a professor and researcher at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health. Poon is known for his work studying SARs-CoV-1, which was the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003 and 2004. Poon has been active in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.
For Poon’s tests, Ducker and the graduate students spread three different kinds of coatings on glass and stainless steel. Then, they shipped the samples to Poon. Now, Ducker said he hopes to attract funding to mass produce the film.
To be sure, the film does not replace other safety measures that people should take to stop the spread of the coronavirus, such as handwashing, physical distancing, and wearing a mask. Even so, “
people won’t have to worry as much about touching objects,” Ducker said. “
It will be both practical and reducing fear.”
Source: Virginia Tech University