Virus Protection Using Membranes

Solecta is excited to collaborate with Professor Dibakar Bhattacharyya (DB), director of the University of Kentucky’s Center of Membrane Sciences, who is developing a coating for membranes that will be incorporated into medical masks and room air filtration media for COVID-19 and other virus particles. DB is collaborating with his partners, Engineering Professors Todd Hastings and Thomas Dziubla and Chemistry Professor Yinan Wei, to develop novel enzymatic surface chemistry on the membrane that will capture and deactivate the coronavirus on contact with the surface of the mask. DB and his group have been functionalizing Solecta membranes for various industrial applications. The functionalized membrane mask development project received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation. “Partnering with DB and other leading scientists in the field of membrane science is an important part of our strategy to redefine membrane solutions as we continue to focus on addressing some of the world’s most challenging separation problems using innovative membrane solutions to challenge conventional approaches and unlock hidden value,” says Dr. Melinda Burn, VP Strategic Marketing.