A County Durham tech firm has teamed up with an American sportswear company to make new products which they say can capture and kill Coronavirus.
Sedgefield-based Graphene Composites (GC) works with graphene – the strongest known material in the world – and combines it with other materials to make products like bullet-proof shields.
More recently the company, based at the Centre for Process Innovation at NETPark, has been working on a graphene ink that can be applied to fabrics including face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE).
Rather than trapping or filtering bacteria and viruses, the graphene ink-treated PPE should kill them, providing significantly increased protection against coronavirus.
In March, the firm’s CEO Sandy Chen issued a call out to firms around the world to work with Graphene Composites and develop products that could be used in the battle against Covid-19.
Now the firm has announced it has created an alliance with G-Form, an athletic protective gear maker based in New England, to develop and distribute cutting-edge new products that catch and kill Coronavirus
Using Graphene Composites breakthrough technology, the Rhode Island firm – which makes sportsgear like knee and elbow guards for athletes – will produce medical protective equipment and athletic apparel, pre-treated with a silver nanoparticle/graphene oxide ink application that captures and kills Coronavirus droplets that spread from an infected person.
G-Form pivoted its manufacturing plant two months ago to the production of PPE face shields and has already produced more than one million units.
Mr Chen said: “Our team at GC has been aggressively developing this solution to provide healthcare workers and athletes the confidence to perform their tasks. Quickly developing and deploying our virus-killing ink would make a significant difference in slowing the rate of infection – thus saving many lives.”
Glen Giovanucci, CEO of G-Form, said: “Athletes around the world are anxiously awaiting to return to their sports but understand there will be necessary precautions in the new normal.
“Whether you are a professional sport league commissioner, a youth league administrator or a high school athletic director, protecting participants from further Coronavirus spread is their overriding concern. In working closely with Sandy and his team at Graphene Composites, we are optimistic about our ability to become an integral part of the safe return to team sports, in addition to providing improved PPE to healthcare professionals.”
No solution currently exists to effectively pre-treat athletic equipment, apparel or footwear prior to practices and games.
The companies’ products are in active testing at a leading Ivy League university and laboratories in both the UK and US, with patents pending. If successful, EPA approvals and production will follow.
