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An adhesive plastic sheet designed by Promaflex, that is used to protect doorknobs, lift buttons and touch screens, can also inactivate the novel coronavirus on the surface.
According to the report published in New Medical Life Sciences , the plastic film has nanoparticles of silver and silica built into its polyethylene structure.
To examine the efficacy of the sheet, the researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP), conducted trials that revealed the sheet is capable of eliminating 99.84 per cent of the viral particles after two minutes of contact.
Lucio Freitas Junior, Researcher at ICB-USP, said in a statement: “The technical standard governing measurement of antiviral activity on plastic and other non-porous surfaces, ISO 21702, requires demonstration of this capability within four hours. The plastic film with silver-silica nanoparticles did so far sooner, and its virucidal action increased over time.”
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The researchers carried out the trials to measure the adhesive plastic film’s capacity to inactivate the coronavirus.
For this, the samples of the material with and without silver-silica nanoparticles were kept in direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 at different intervals of time. After the stipulated periods, the viral particles found in the material were removed and placed in contact with Vero cells to measure the infection and replication rate after exposure to the film.
The researchers then quantified the viral genetic material that showed a reduction of almost 100 per cent in copies of SARS-CoV-2 after two minutes of exposure.
Nanox CEO Luiz Gustavo Pagotto Simões, one of the researchers, said: “The silver-silica nanoparticles are added to the polyethylene during its production, so the film’s antimicrobial action persists throughout its working life.”
Nanox recommended that the use of the film should be for up to three months, after which it may wear out from excessive contact.
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