Japanese marine coating company Nippon Paint and US-based technology company Corning Inc have developed a special coating to protect workers from picking up viruses from painted surfaces.
Nippon Paint’s Antivirus Kids Paint, developed specifically for frontline hospital use, incorporates Corning Guardiant Antimicrobial Particles – a nascent technology designed to safeguard against viruses from adhering to hospital surfaces.
The coating is being unveiled as an ” additional layer of protection” for workers since viruses can remain viable on some surfaces for several days, depending on environmental conditions.
Nippon Paint said that its Antivirus Kids Paint was tested by Microchem Laboratory in the USA in January 2020, with results showing that the coating inactivates over 99.9% of the Feline Calicivirus. Feline Calicivirus has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a suitable replacement for detecting human norovirus.
The new coating also kills harmful bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the company added.
Nippon Paint and Corning Inc have donated RMB 5 million ($ 706 K) worth of Nippon Paint Antivirus Kids Paint to four hospitals in China’s Hubei Province.
“The coronavirus outbreak has prompted us once again to be highly innovative, and we are happy to work jointly with Corning at this particular time to complete the development, tests, and production of the antivirus coating. We hope this will give frontline healthcare professionals valuable support as they fight the virus,” Eric Chung, president of Nippon Paint, China said.
Dimitris Dalakouras, Managing Director, Conbulk Ship Management Corporation added that the coating could eventually find application across the maritime industry.
“Hospital ships are an obvious beneficiary, but the coating could also be used to protect surfaces in cruiseships, passenger ferries as well as other types of commercial vessels,” he added.