AlpFilm Protect PBC is a plastic film that inactivates 99.99% of the coronavirus in 15 minutes. The material has been prepared by the companies Braskem, AlpFilm and Nanox, in conjunction with the federal universities of São Carlos (UFSCar) of Brazil and Jaume I of Castelló (UJI)
The consortium made up of the companies Braskem, AlpFilm and Nanox, in conjunction with the federal universities of São Carlos (UFSCar) of Brazil and Jaume I of Castelló (UJI) designed a plastic that can repel COVID-19 in just 15 minutes.
AlpFilm Protect PBC is a plastic film that inactivates 99.99% of the coronavirus in 15 minutes, a record with incredible potential not only for the health sector. The developers claim that it could be of great use to store market purchases, consult the mobile, type in front of a computer or even press elevator buttons.
“500 tons per day of plastic with these properties are being manufactured, destined for the US and Chinese markets, among others,” explained Juan Andrés Bort, head of the Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (QTC) of the Jaume I University of Castelló ( UJI).
The innovative solution was developed by researchers from UJI, the Brazilian Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and the companies Braskem, AlpFilm and Nanox, and is currently available on the market.
The solution is based on the PVC film with silver and silica microparticles. Silica is a semi-conductor that is activated with metallic silver to generate highly oxidizing molecules that are capable of inactivating 79% of the new coronavirus in three minutes and 99.99% in up to 16 minutes.
“At the end of 2019, when covid-19 appears, we realized that the objective should be to obtain materials that were capable of killing this virus. The problem? That finding strains of the virus was almost impossible because very few laboratories had permission to handle it. We were unable to do trials in Spain, but we obtained authorization in Brazil. With a multidisciplinary team of researchers and technologists, in March 2020 we achieved a virucidal material against covid-19 ”, explained Professor Bort.