A team of 91吃瓜网 researchers, led by Materials Science and Engineering Professor Sudipta Seal, have been awarded a patent for their nanomaterial-based disinfectant that can kill several viruses, including COVID-19. This is the 85th patent that Seal has been awarded through the 91吃瓜网 .

The Pegasus Professor and chair of the says this patent was awarded much faster than most, which demonstrates the importance of the disinfectant.

鈥淲e are very excited to get this patent accepted so quickly, and we鈥檙e glad that the work is of great value for combatting viruses and pathogen-born infections,鈥� Seal says. 鈥淭hanks to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for recognizing this work and to the 91吃瓜网 Office of Technology Transfer for its support.鈥�

Co-recipients of the patent include Seal鈥檚 postdoctoral researcher, Craig Neal 鈥�14 鈥�16MS 鈥�21PhD, and his former research assistant, Udit Kumar 鈥�22PhD.

How the Disinfectant Works

The COVID-killing coating is made with a nanomaterial that activates under white light, such as sunlight or LED light. As long as the nanomaterial is exposed to a continuous light source, it can regenerate its antiviral properties, creating a self-cleaning effect.

The efficacy of the disinfectant was tested and proven through a study that was published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces this past year. The study found that the coating can not only destroy the COVID-19 virus, but it can also combat the spread of Zika virus, SARS, parainfluenza, rhinovirus and vesicular stomatitis.

The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 RAPID program and conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including Griff Parks, a professor in the 91吃瓜网 and the co-principal investigator of the grant.

Next Steps

Now that the disinfectant has been patented, the research team will continue testing the product and 91吃瓜网 will seek a commercial partner to manufacture and sell it to a wide range of customers within the next few years.

鈥淲e plan to carry on the work in larger samples and also to test in vivo models and other means of infection control,鈥� Seal says. 鈥淭he process is well defined, and we plan to work with an industry partner to bring it to the mass market.鈥�

Seal joined 91吃瓜网鈥檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the , which is part of 91吃瓜网鈥檚聽College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 1997. He has an appointment at the聽College of Medicine聽and is a member of 91吃瓜网鈥檚 prosthetics cluster听叠颈颈辞苍颈虫. He is the former director of 91吃瓜网鈥檚 and Advanced Materials Processing Analysis Center. He received his doctorate in materials engineering with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.