Firm develops 'world-first' technology in defence against viruses

The V-100 technology has been developed by Chemport Ltd, and in tests carried out by the UK Government’s Health Laboratories at Porton Down is shown to offer a superior barrier against smaller airborne particulates than disposable protective technology in use worldwide.

Emerging evidence suggests that coronavirus particles around 120 nanometres in size can remain airborne for longer, and travel further, and this has been acknowledged by the World Health Organization.

Shropshire-based Chemport founder and director, Steve Rawlings, has used a career in the exploration of the protective qualities of clothing materials and filtration to bring this innovative technology to market.

He said that as the science began to help our understanding of how the virus could be transmitted, it was clear that a more effective solution was needed to tackle its spread and that of other known viruses.

He added: “In tests carried out by the British Government Biosafety Investigation Unit at Porton Down, the technology that we’ve developed has been shown to offer 99.93 per cent efficiency in protection against ingress of aerosolised particles representing the virus, compared with filtration rates of just 97 per cent for FFP3 N100 masks.

“What is crucial however, is that our V-100 technology was tested and shown to be effective against particles just 23 nanometres (nm) in size. This is critical when you consider that tiny virus particles are thought to be suspended in the air through aerosol transmission.”

Current best-performing disposable respirators classed as FFP3/N100 are tested as a barrier against particles down to 300nm only. Coronavirus is known to be significantly smaller, at between 80-120 nm in size.

The Chemport technology harnesses three distinct types of barriers and protection:

A viricidal outer fabric which destroys 77 per cent of the virus within 60 seconds and over 90 per cent within 5 minutes. Washed 50 times at 60oc, it continues to offer 98 per cent effectiveness within two hours.

Triboelectric charged filtration which, with a combination of a nine-layer filter medium, retains and re-generates its triboelectric charge, even after becoming wet.

Mechanical sieving due to the unique nine-layer barrier which does not impede the ingress and egress of air when breathing.

The technology is being used to produce protective filters, face mask panels, and complete face masks, and the company is already in talks with manufacturers, national and local government agencies, NGOs and large retailers.

Steve added: “This is a true British success story and I’m hugely proud to be able to bring to market this ground-breaking technology to help us to go further in the fight against life-threatening viruses.”