CFQD and MRSA18 Apr 2018 19:14
Apologies if this has already featured on the thread
The new polymer-based coating, developed by a team of chemists led by University College London�s Ethel Koranteng, can be used as a flexible film that can encase a wide variety of shapes, including the door handles, computer keyboards and telephones on which bacteria are known to spread from person to person.
Even more interesting is that the material activates upon exposure to overhead lighting, making it ideal for use in hospitals.
The material is a type of polyurethane in which are embedded �quantum dots,� tiny, cadmium-free semiconductor nanoparticles. It also contains crystal violet dye particles, so it�s referred to by Koranteng and her team as �QD-CV� material. The quantum dots absorb light and transfer its energy to the crystal violet, which then releases high-energy oxygen molecules into the air that destroy microbes.
The QD-CV material looks to be impressively effective, too, �resulting in complete kill of a laboratory strain of Staphylococcus aureus after 1 hour irradiation at 6000 lux light intensity and 99.99% reduction of a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli� according to the team that developed it. It also killed 99.7% of MRSA. The polymer also performed well against a multidrug-resistant strain of E. Coli, killing 99.85% of it.