Porton Down spin-out reaches royalty milestones in healthcare and life sciences markets and sees many potential applications for its super-repellant coatings technology
Porton Plasma Innovations (P2i) reports that it has started to receive revenues from the first licences granted in the healthcare and life sciences markets for its proprietary super-repellent coatings.
P2i's patented plasma process was originally developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the UK Ministry of Defence's research organisation, to protect the armed forces and emergency services personnel against chemical attacks.
In a new departure, the P2i coating technology is now proving ideal not only for medical textiles, but also for consumables such as filters, microplates, pipette tips and devices.
Drawing on P2i's in-depth expertise, the super-repellent coating is applied in specially designed plasma chambers.
Using plasma, the liquid-repellent is deposited in layers only molecules thick over the whole surface of a product.
The repellent penetrates deep into fabrics and binds to fibre surfaces at the molecular level, creating an invisible protective layer.
The result is a coating with a claimed three times lower surface energy than the benchmark Teflon (PTFE) and, unlike other hydrophobic treatments, it is able to repel 100% isopropylalcohol (IPA) and oils.
According to P2i CEO Quentin Compton-Bishop, this milestone comes as an increasing number of companies in the biomedical sector are starting to realise the new technique's potential and ease of adoption: "Our first applications have been for the filters used in the wells of DNA forensic testing microplates.
"The coating achieved is so ultrathin that filter pore size is not affected and remains well within tolerances.
"Performance-wise, this leads to longer reaction times and thus increased sample recovery.
"Market reaction has been highly favourable and we are now coating large volumes of filters on a routine basis for customers".
Currently plasma coating enhancement is performed in P2i's own facilities.
However the company has now demonstrated the robustness and scalability of the process and is able to install plasma coating chambers on customer's own sites under licence.
Compton-Bishop continued: "The overall benefits of our plasma super-repellent coating are highly persuasive - by demonstrably enhancing performance it has a high added value to customers.
"Adoption rates are fast, scale-up easy and the process is also environmentally friendly.
"As interest grows we are discovering a wide range of life science and biomedical products that can be treated with the P2i process.
"I see no reason why the success with filters cannot be repeated with, for example, liquid handling tips, micropipettes, reaction tubes and delivery devices such as inhalers.
"We also believe that plasma coating is ideal for lab-on-a-chip applications.
"Finally, woven and non-woven medical textiles for both clothing and woundcare are of course another area which we are investigating in conjunction with our general textile work".
Interestingly, In addition to enhancing hydrophobic surface properties, the P2i process can also be used to manipulate other effects.
Currently P2i's R and D team is looking at increasing the opposite hydrophilic effect and antimicrobial properties.
