New product being developed may prove valuable in fight against tuberculosis and Legionnaires' disease
CONTACT:
Dr. Dave Worley, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 334/844-6980; fax: 334/844-6959; email: [email protected]
Dr. Richard Turton, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 304/293-2111, ext. 415; fax: 304/293-4139; email: [email protected]
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- A new product invented by an Auburn University professor and being developed at West Virginia University may change the way disinfectants are applied in fighting diseases such as tuberculosis and Legionnaires' disease.
The product, known as a polystyrenehydantoin or poly1, kills disease-causing microbes and viruses in seconds and has potential application in places as disparate as spas, slaughter- houses, oil refineries, nurseries, operating rooms, airplanes, restaurants, war zones, and state parks.
Poly1 was invented and patented by Dr. Dave Worley of Auburn University. In simple terms, Worley and his colleague, Dr. Gang Sun, University of California-Davis, were able to attach a soluble stabilizer used in spas and swimming pools to a nonsoluble plastic (polystyrene), thereby making a nonsoluble stabilizer.
In chemistry, a stabilizer is a substance that causes a chemical to retain its properties. Poly1, the chemically altered polystyrene Worley and Sun created, now acts much like a magnet to the family of chemicals known as halogens (flourine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine), attracting these chemicals to itself and holding them there, in tact (stable), for long periods of time.
For example, if chlorine is wiped over a poly1 plastic, the plastic will attract the chlorine atoms onto its surface, making the plastic capable of killing germs. If a countertop made with poly1 were wiped with common bleach, the chlorine atoms would become a part of the surface of the counter and remain so for anywhere from days to months, depending on use and exposure to germs. Wet or dry, the chlorine atoms would remain on the structure, and if germs came in contact with the counter, they would be killed.
Another unique feature of poly1 is that it can be recharged like a rechargeable battery. The surface of the countertop, for instance, could be recharged by wiping it with bleach. A child's toy, for example, could be made more sanitary by incorporating poly1 into its composition and periodically (twice a year, perhaps, depending on use and contamination) soaking the toy for 30 minutes in a mild bleach solution (1 tsp. to 5 gal. water). An air filter could be made to kill tuberculosis germs.
The applications are very broad. There is a need, however, to develop ways to coat plastics and other materials with poly1 so that pipes, filters, and other products can be used as disinfectants.
For that, John Richards of Biopoly Corp. in Clarksburg, W.Va.--the firm licensed to manufacture and develop poly1--turned to Dr. Richard Turton, a particle engineer in WVU's Chemical Engineering Department. Turton recently won an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through the West Virginia Water Research Institute, to develop ways to affix poly1 to surfaces. Turton will collaborate with Biopoly Corp. and Halosource of Seattle, Wa. NewChem, Inc. of Newell, W.Va., will manufacture poly1.
"I don't use the word lightly, but this really is a product that could revolutionize water and air treatment," Turton said. "There are a myriad of uses for it." Turton said his problem is to find ways to make the polymer adhere to a solid such as an air or water filtering system. This will involve using a "glue" that doesn't diminish the germ-killing polymer's effectiveness. "I think this is a solvable problem," he said.
Industrial representatives who have expressed and interest included the Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia, GE Specialty Chemicals, GE Plastics, Amoco Polymers Inc., DuPont, Polyvel Inc., and Carlisle Food Service Products.
POLY1-Germ-Killing Polymer Polystyrenehydantoin, referred to as poly1, is designed to act as an air, water, and surface disinfectants. For example, with poly1 incorporated into a water filter, you can drink disinfected water without ingesting the hazardous byproducts associated with standard municipally chlorinated or treated water.
That is because unlike free chlorine or bromine--the most common water disinfectants--poly1 is not water soluble; the germ killing takes place on the surface of poly1.In water treatment applications, poly1 is effective in broad pH and temperature ranges for all qualities of water, and as a manufacturing plus, poly1 can withstand temperatures up to 300 C (572 F).
According to Dr. Dave Worley, a professor of organic chemistry at Auburn University and inventor of poly1, NASA and the U.S. Army have tested poly1 in water applications with very positive results and have found it to remove organic and inorganic microorganisms, including E. coli, within seconds. For the military's purposes, filters made with poly1 could be used in straws that would replace iodine tablets for treating contaminated water. Dr. Richard Turton, a West Virginia University particle engineer who is working on surface coating applications regarding poly1, says the polymer could be bound to a variety of particles and used in larger water filters, and it could also be used to coat the inside of faucets, water pipes, and valves.
Obviously, poly1 has great potential for use in urban and rural water treatment applications and especially in developing countries plagued by problems of scarce and contaminated drinking water. Infectious disease is an ever-increasing problem around the world, from bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, to viral agents such as Hepatitis A and tuberculosis, and disease-causing fungi such as aspergillus, a mold found in decaying organic material and soil and transmitted via inhalation.
Serious, often fatal disease outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad have been linked not only to contaminated water but to public consumption of infected meat and fruit, and to ventilation systems infected with legionella pneumophila, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' Disease.
"The potential for the use of poly1 in food service products, water and air filters, construction industries, and medical applications are immense," says John Richards of Biopoly in Clarksburg, W.Va., which is developing poly1 technologies within the state. "Poly1 could be used in many cannery, meat packing, and food packaging materials, and in washing, heating, and cooling system filters." According to Dr. Janet Stout, a microbiologist with the Veterans Medical Center Special Pathogens Laboratory in Pittsburgh, and an expert on legionella detection and disinfection, a biocidal/viricidal polymer like poly1 is an exciting discovery for the health care industry. Poly1 could be used in respirators, dialysis equipment, incubators, air and water filtration systems, and innumerable other medical apparatus where sterility is paramount.
Dr. Jeff Williams, a renowned microbiologist at Michigan State University and a researcher with Halosource Corporation (based in Seattle), has been working with Richards on commercialization and manufacture of poly1 within West Virginia. Williams adds that poly1 could be woven into fabrics for sterile hospital clothing, operating table covers, etc., and in the home, poly1 could be used in everything from heating and cooling systems and water purification to carpets; paints; upholstery, bedding, and drapery fabric; even children's toys. The West Virginia Water Research Institute, which is sponsoring Dr. RichardTurton's participation in this research, is a program of WVU's National ResearchCenter for Coal & Energy.
MORE CONTACTS
Dr. Dave Worley, Auburn University, Auburn, AL334/844-6980; fax: 334/844-6959; email: [email protected]
Dr. Worley is the inventor of biocidal/viricidal polymers.
Dr. Jeff Williams, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, and Halosource Corporation, Seattle, WA. 517/355-3335; fax: 517/432-3644; email: [email protected]. msu.edu
Dr. Williams is a microbiologist who has worked extensively with Dr. Worley and has conducted his own research on biocidal/viricidal polymers. He is an authority in the field of dental water contamination.
Dr. Richard Turton, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV304/293-2111, ext. 415; fax: 304/293-4139; email: [email protected]
Dr. Turton is a particle engineer who is working on coating plastics, metals, and other materials with biocidal/viricidal polymers for commercial application in antimicrobial products such as water and air filters, food packaging, even toys.
Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz, Director, WV Water Research Institute, WVU, Morgantown, WV. 304/293-2867, ext. 5441; fax: 304/293-3749; email: [email protected]
Dr. Ziemkiewicz is director of the WVU program that is sponsoring Turton's research.
Dr. Janet Stout, Veterans Medical Center Special Pathogens Laboratory,Pittsburgh, PA. 412/688-6179; fax: 412/683-6928; email [email protected]
Dr. Stout is a microbiologist and an authority on legionella.
John Richards, Halosource, Inc., (Seattle-based) and (President) Biopoly Corp.,Clarksburg, WV. 304/622-7955; fax: 304/622-5676
Mr. Richards is coordinating the manufacturing of poly1 within West Virginia and will develop the "point of use"water applications for this technology.
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