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Canadian researcher develops fabric coating to prevent transmission of COVID-19

Company News, News | December 13, 2021 | By:

A Canadian researcher has been honored for his development of a 99 percent effective antimicrobial fabric coating that prevents transmission of COVID-19.

Seyyedarash Haddadi is a postdoctoral researcher at the UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Approved by Health Canada, the coating — which combines graphene oxide and silver — is now being incorporated into millions of face masks for sale worldwide.

The new technology recently earned him the Mitacs & NRC-IRAP Award for Commercialization for his breakthrough work. The annual Mitacs Awards celebrate outstanding accomplishments of students, professors and partner organizations. Presented by Mitacs, a national innovation organization that fosters growth by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.

Haddadi was studying anticorrosion coatings when the pandemic hit, but quickly turned his attention toward virus prevention. Haddadi discovered that covering super thin sheets of patent-pending oxidized graphene with silver resulted in extraordinary antiviral and antibacterial properties. Further testing showed that his invention, incorporated in a surgical mask, reduces transmission of active pathogens by more than 99.99 per cent, including COVID-19 viral particles and bacteria, according to Mitacs.

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