New paint kills microbes with spikes

by jhay on December 15, 2006

Got this from the Discovery Channel website: Spiky Paint Kills Bugs on Contact

Klibanov’s coating is made up of microscopic polymer spikes, rather than chemicals. The polymer spikes are mixed into a solvent. When the solvent is applied to a surface, it evaporates, leaving behind a clear, spiky coating.

When a bacterium lands on the polymer, the spikes poke holes into the pathogen’s protective outer membrane.

In an experiment, 99 percent of bacteria that were exposed to a coated surface died.

So with this new kind of anti-microbial coating, your walls and ceilings would become literally a ‘bed of nails’ for bacteria and viruses that would land on them.

Aside from home benefits this would be great for hospitals and other facilities that get exposed to high levels of bacterial or viral count. I just wonder though if this would have any effect on Spiderman’s ability to crawl on walls and ceilings? Kidding aside, this kind of new technological innovations are great and I wish that these would be made available to developing countries like ours, the Philippines. It would save the government lots of money from massive pesticide sprays and become more environment-friendly in the process and ultimately lead to healthier Filipinos.

In 2002 alone, the third leading cause of illness in the county is Bronchitis/Bronchiolitis. Which is caused by certain air-borne pathogens like the viruses Rhinovirus, Adenovirus and the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae among others aside from air pollutants like smog, dust and cigarette smoke.

Now I wonder if this spike-laden coating material could also be used to prevent mosquitoes from landing on house walls and ceilings where they wait to find the person to come along and be bitten, thus further preventing malaria, and dengue fever from spreading. House flies would be next on the list as these irritating insects carry many pathogens as well.

Wait a minute, aren’t insect-repelling products like these already commercially available?

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Nostalgia Manila December 18, 2006 at 2:15 pm

It's been a great year for bloggers. May you prosper in the new year!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

–Nostalgia Manila

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Jam December 16, 2006 at 5:13 am

Paracetamol tablet I mean.

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Jam December 16, 2006 at 5:12 am

I would agree that if that could be as effective as it is claimed, it could save a lot of money. Sadly, as I have noticed, the Filipinos are more on spending on cure and not on prevention. This maybe one of the reason why the Philippines are always lagging when it comes to health system, of course, added to that is the lesser budget allotted for health. I've heard that the budget for health is only 0.75 cents for every Filipino. What could you buy for that? I can't even buy a single Paracetamol table.

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Tess December 15, 2006 at 11:44 pm

that's a helpful and interesting article. :-) I'm just not sure about the insect-repelling products available in the country. I'm sure they are a whole lot expensive and not most people can really afford it. The irony is most of the people who can't afford such products are the ones who need it most in their homes.

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trench December 15, 2006 at 10:59 pm

wow. News to me.

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