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(Sharecast News) - Materials engineering company Versarien announced the launch of its first graphene-enhanced protective face mask on Monday, which used its graphene-enhanced polymer 'Polygrene'.
The AIM-traded firm said the launch of the new mask coincided with the first two orders it had received, following recent pre-launch sales activity, which resulted in 100,000 masks being delivered to an unnamed "leading British university", and 20,000 ordered by an unnamed UK electrical and mechanical servicing and repairs business.
It said the mask, designed and manufactured with a Chinese partner, is a filtering facepiece rated 'FFP2', which was designed to help provide enhanced protection against airborne bacteria and to minimise the spread of viral infection.
It met the 'BS EN 149:2001+A1:2009' standard for respiratory protective devices, while its antibacterial performance was certified according to 'GB/T 20944.2.2007' and its anti-viral performance was certified according to 'ISO 18184:2014 (E)'.
As a result, the mast met the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization.
Versarien said the new mask was enhanced with a coated layer using 'Polygrene', which it described as an advanced graphene-based material featuring 'Nanene'.
The addition of graphene to polymers provided "many benefits", the board claimed, including allowing innovative products to be developed using existing production processes.
It said the Polygrene was blended with a "sustainably sourced" cellulose material mix.
"Our new graphene enhanced mask is just one example of Polygrene's versatility and the high-quality design specifications that can be met using the material," said chief executive officer Neill Ricketts.
"We have taken great encouragement from the initial level of interest and are already in discussions with a number of other potential customers. Importantly, through our partner, we also have the capacity to fulfil much larger numbers of product orders going forward."
At 1606 BST, shares in Versarien were up 12.2% at 46p.
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