Award

The COVID-19 pandemic has evidenced the pressing and substantial need for sustainable and more effective solutions to prevent the transmission and spreading of pathogens of public health concern, including the SARS-CoV-2. Imminent challenges for the US Nation include emerging pathogens resulting from disease outbreaks or manufactured and released by terrorists. In this regard, high-touch surfaces in high traffic areas represent a particular public health challenge. Cost effective disinfectant coatings with long-term efficacy are sorely needed in the fight of pandemics and other biological threats. Stay-Fresh is a surface coating developed by Quick-Med Technologies that offers a safe, effective, and durable antimicrobial/antiviral protection. The innovation of Stay-Fresh technology is in the reversible binding of hydrogen peroxide (HP) within a complex of zinc oxide, which sequesters HP into a non-volatile form that can bind tightly to fibers as well as non-porous surfaces. In the presence of moisture, HP is released in a controlled manner, creating a highly localized yet potent �kill zone� for viruses and bacteria. Through controlled release, Stay-Fresh provides unparalleled antimicrobial effect, outperforming other formulations in terms of cost, efficacy, ease-of-use and durability. As opposed to alternative antimicrobials, the active agent in Stay-Fresh, HP, does not entail any hazard to human health or environmental impact. HP is naturally produced by both animal and plant cells, and concentrations present in the proposed solution are within the safe CDC guidelines. Moreover, the ease of use of the Stay-Fresh solution allows for the treatment to be readily applied without complicated equipment and stable long-term storage of the product until needed. During Phase I QMT has tested Stay-Fresh on typical hard surfaces used in high traffic areas and verified the short- and long-term efficacy of Stay-Fresh according to EPA recently released guidelines for Evaluating the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Surface Coatings. Target customers of Stay-Fresh technology include facility managers and cleaning service providers of public transportation infrastructure, municipalities, healthcare providers, and other high-touch/high-volume areas such as schools, commercial buildings, industry settings, office buildings and more. Antimicrobial coatings hold a market share of 16% of the global smart coatings market (USD 0.49 billion in the year 2020) and is forecasted to have an annual growth rate of 19.1% reaching USD 1.98 billion in 2028. North America represents a substantial 25% share of this market.