Plastic that neutralizes the coronavirus
A new plastic film developed by a Brazilian company can inactivate the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on contact. Created by Nanox, financially supported by the FAPESP Innovative Research in Small Business Program and marketed by Alpfilm, the material has common plastic characteristics, but its composition has silver and silica microparticles, capable of minimizing the risk of contamination by plastic packaging.
Contamination by the new Coronavirus through contact with surfaces is one of the main ways of spreading the disease. Harmless visits to the market, pharmacy and other establishments can contaminate clothes, hands and body parts, which can later go to the face and make one more infected. Therefore, the industry has turned to the development of new materials that work around this problem.
From this investment came the plastic with silver particles from Nanox, capable of inactivating the Coronavirus on contact. The material was tested in level 3 biosafety laboratories at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB-USP), where it eliminated 79.9% of the virus particles in three minutes, and 99.99% in up to 15 minutes. .
“The elimination of the virus by the material was extremely effective in a short time. It is a very different application from the more than 40 products with action against the new Coronavirus that we have tested since the beginning of the pandemic ”, comments Lúcio Freitas Junior, researcher at ICB-USP. “Taking into account that the film is used to pack foods that are exposed and are handled a lot in supermarkets, 15 minutes to completely eliminate the new coronavirus on the material’s surface is a very satisfactory time”, added Luiz Gustavo Pagotto Simões, director of Nanox .
Lethal against the virus, harmless to humans
According to Simões, silver microparticles are authorized and registered with the FDA (United States Food and Drug Regulatory Agency) and on a positive list of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), where it receives determinations to be included in food packaging to prevent the migration of silver.
Finally, Simões says that studies on the application of the solution in raw materials in the civil construction sector presents “good answers”. The textile industry also applied the composition to fabrics and clothing in Santista products, the Malwee group, Cedro Têxtil and Delfim Tecidos.
CDMF
O CDMF é um dos Centros de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão (Cepids) apoiados pela Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp), e recebe também investimento do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), a partir do Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia dos Materiais em Nanotecnologia (INCTMN).
