Technology

The antimicrobial coating technology is an adaptation of photodynamic therapy that is already used in treating HIV infections and various cancers. Surfaces such as hospital privacy curtains, air filters, upholstery, rugs, and linens can harbor billions of active microorganisms. Since the LaamScience technology is effective against many viruses and most bacteria, it can help reduce the numbers of infectious microbes on most surfaces.
The Company holds proprietary technology for coatings that produce a safe, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent (singlet oxygen) when exposed to visible light. The light activated coating is catalytic in nature and the singlet oxygen is continuously produced as long as the surface is exposed to light. Light momentarily elevates the coatings to a higher energy state. The coating transfers this energy to oxygen which forms singlet oxygen which has a lifetime of less than a microsecond. The coating is regenerative and the self-decontaminating surface remains virtually free of infectious viruses and bacteria as long as it is exposed to a light source.
Many different coatings have been tested for their antimicrobial effects. Dr. Michielsen, inventor of the LaamScience technology, has shown that these light-activated coatings can be permanently bonded in high density to the surface of natural and polymer fibers of numerous types and that all of the agent is confined to the surface of the fibers.


 

Facts

Effectiveness
Although it was previously believed that the inanimate environment played little or no role in the transmission of infectious disease, this concept is now being reconsidered. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed contact transmission—direct, from body to surface, or indirect, via contaminated inanimate objects—as one of the main routes of microbe transmission.
Test data have demonstrated a 99.2 to 99.99 percent kill rate of Influenza and Vaccinia viruses as well as Gram positive bacteria by our antimicrobial coatings, even during a relatively short light exposure at normal light intensities. Because singlet oxygen generation and interaction with the microbe will only occur in close proximity to the coated surface [< one micrometer], LaamScience believes that it will not be harmful to humans or other multi-cellular organisms.
It has been suggested that the mechanism of action of this technology might help to overcome the problem of bacterial multi-drug resistance, since it induces damage and cytotoxic [cell-killing] events in a wide variety of microorganisms. All the available evidence suggests that multi-antibiotic resistant strains are as easily killed by this method as are naive strains, and that bacteria will not readily develop resistance to this method of inactivation. Upon exposure to visible light, fibers treated with the LaamScience product have killed Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA, the drug-resistant, troublesome bacteria found in hospitals, in a (light) dose-dependant manner.
LaamScience’s coating technology employs safe components and does not require customization for individual microbes. Studies are ongoing to optimize coatings for viral inactivation using less intense light for effective inactivation, expanding the types of viruses and bacteria tested, and showing the antimicrobial activity and ruggedness of the coatings in real-world settings.

Safety
Chemical components of the coating are well characterized and are known entities, many of which have already been cleared for other uses by the Food and Drug Administration which decreases the probability of biological incompatibilities. Further, the coatings are permanently bonded to the textile surface and do not contain compounds which leach out of the textiles, producing environmental burdens. All components are water-soluble which allows safe manufacturing conditions. Biocompatibility testing (cytotoxicity, skin irritation and skin sensitization) has demonstrated the safety of several coatings and is ongoing as new ones are developed.