US Patent Awarded for Compounds that Kill H1N1 and MRSA
NEW YORK (PRWEB) January 11, 2018 -- With the flu season fully upon us, imagine making common items, such as cotton cloth, plastic bottles, and wound dressings, killers of the H1N1 flu virus or MRSA. This is now a reality with far reaching implications. Researchers at Pace University, Queens College, and Long Island University have been awarded U.S. patent number 9,832,998 B2 for a portfolio of compounds that, when applied to polymer surfaces, renders them antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial/antimicrobial.
“We have developed a compound that when bonded to a variety of surfaces, kills the H1N1 virus, MRSA, and other pathogens, fungi, and bacteria that come into contact with those surfaces, helping to stop the spread of diseases and infections,” said Chemistry Professor JaimeLee Rizzo, PhD, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Pace University. She and her fellow researchers, Professor Robert Engel, PhD, Queens College, and Professor Karin Melkonian-Fincher, PhD, of Long Island University, have worked on developing this as part of a portfolio of compounds since 2010.
The patent covers a group of groundbreaking antimicrobial technologies. These compounds have many practical applications across a variety of industries and sectors, such as healthcare, food, agriculture, construction, and the military. The range of surfaces that the compound can be bonded to includes many polymer materials, and could be used on wound dressings, facemasks, gowns, linens and countertops found in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and physician’s offices; household items, such as sponges, cutting boards, and counters; water and air filtration systems; military uniforms; and plastic bottles used not only in the beverage industry, but the health and beauty sectors as well.
For the greater good. “With this patent, we will continue to develop compounds that will kill new flu virus strains as they emerge, which will offer enormous benefits to the health and well-being of society,” added Rizzo.
The triumvirate of researchers is working on bringing the compounds to the market in 2018.
About Dyson College of Arts and Sciences: Pace University’s liberal arts college, Dyson College offers more than 50 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as numerous courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices.
About Pace University: Since 1906, Pace has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in Lower Manhattan and Westchester County, NY, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Professions, School of Education, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. http://www.pace.edu.
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Cara Cea, Pace University, +1 (914) 906-9680, [email protected]
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