Corning, PPG to develop antiviral paints, coatings
Marie Donlon | November 16, 2020Corning — a manufacturer of durable glass products for smartphones and other devices — has developed a copper-derived paint that neutralizes pathogens similar to the coronavirus in just two hours.
Corning Guardiant is an additive for paints that kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the murine norovirus. The copper-derived additive combined with Corning’s glass-ceramic technology can turn a number of different surfaces into virus killing surfaces.
Capable of working under both wet and dry conditions, Corning discovered that after a simulation of six years' worth of scrubbing in the lab, surfaces treated with Corning Guardiant maintained their virus killing properties.
Pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval, Corning plans to develop a line of antiviral paints and coatings alongside paint and coating manufacturer PPG.
Surface solutions are emerging from all corners of the world to fight COVID-19, even though the risk of surface transmission of the virus is lower than originally thought when the virus first emerged. However, the risk is there and solutions so far have ranged from UV light to nano-coatings and plasma.
For more information on how the technology works, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Corning.