Hong Kong researchers invent antiviral "coating"

What sounds like a gentle fan is the hum of a spray gun spreading a blanket of a new, smarter antiviral material.

Researchers say what they call MAP-1 could be a leg up in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

And its already in use around the city of Hong Kong.

MAP-1's inventors at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology claim it can provide 90 days of "significant" protection against bacteria and viruses including the one that causes covid-19.

It's not toxic and can be stuck on surfaces that are frequently touched like elevator buttons or handrails.

Professor Joseph Kwan is one of the lead researchers.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY AT HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, JOSEPH KWAN, SAYING:

"These places that are frequently touched, and, at the same time, serve a very effective fomite or medium for transmission of diseases. So with that, the application of the product would be most effective in preventing transmission of diseases."

The research was a decade-long undertaking.

But it found the coating that forms after a spray was effective in killing bacteria, viruses and spores.

MAP-1 works through millions of nano-capsules that contain disinfectants.

Unlike diluted bleach or alcohol the coating also contains heat-sensitive compounds and release the disinfectant on human contact.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY AT HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, JOSEPH KWAN, SAYING:

"And when somebody touches on it, the polymer material can feel the temperature increase of the body heat and they would open up and release the disinfectant. Once you remove your hand, they will close up, and thus conserving the disinfectant."

The coating was approved for official and mass consumer use in February, and will hit Hong Kong stores in May this year.

With help from a local charity, the non-toxic coating has already been sprayed around the homes of more than a thousand low-income families in the Hong Kong.