In the US, about 1.7 million Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAls) occur in hospitals each year, resulting in 99,000 deaths and an estimated $20 billion in healthcare costs. According to previous reports, as much as one third of HAI cases can be attributed to environmental surfaces, namely ?high touch? surfaces (e.g. bed rails, machine buttons, equipment), in a hospital. Self-sanitizing coatings, i.e. antimicrobial surfaces, are an ideal theoretical solution for eliminating persistent pathogens; however there has been no commercially available antimicrobial material which can fulfill all requirements of high-efficacy against pathogens: easy to apply, broad material compatibility, no pathogen resistance development, and cost-effective. That makes HaloFilm? a breakthrough product. HaloFilm is a spray-on product that when dried leaves a thin transparent film on a surface. The film is a polymer composed of one monomer to stick to the surface, and another monomer that stabilizes chlorine, i.e. N-halamine. HaloFilm turns the surface into a chlorine battery so using even a household brand sanitizer will leave a surface covered with chlorine which can last longer than two weeks. HaloFilm has superior efficacy against pathogens compared to the most popular antimicrobial agent, silver, because it relies on the efficacy of chlorine which has decades of use, and broad-spectrum efficacy against pathogen without generating pathogens with resistance. In addition, we recently developed a formulation that include anti-fouling monomers, zwitterion moieties and poly(ethylene glycol). These additions to the polymer backbone mean that HaloFilm can be effective even without being charged with chlorine. This project will evaluate HaloFilm with these two anti-fouling monomers against HaloFilm without them. The best formulation will then be tested for efficacy and safety. HaloFilm is Halamine Inc.?s first product and is protected by exclusively licensed patents from Auburn University and Cornell University.
Development of a new class of antimicrobial coating polymer products that can cost-effectively create ?self-sanitizing? properties on hand-touch surfaces within healthcare facilities. To achieve this goal, we propose to demonstrate proof-of-concept regarding the antimicrobial functionality, durability, and safety of our newly invented polymer for hand-touch application on different substrate materials that are commonly used in the healthcare settings.
