It seems like everyone is doing their part to help the fight against COVID-19. That includes researchers at the University of Houston.
A nanotech coating developed at U-H could help improve the ability of surgical masks to protect against COVID-19. Seamus Curran, a professor of physics, is using a hydrophobic coating he developed almost ten years ago that he tells KTRH can help stop the virus that likes to swim in water, whether it's in droplets or your breath.
"If we can block the medium, you block the virus. If you're car can only run on a road and you take the road away, the car can't travel anywhere," Curran explained.
The coating has been in use in the real world for a while now, on things like monument signs. The coating has prevented mold and mildew. Curran says the tech can be transferred to material, and all he needs is FDA approval.
"The base chemistry has been tested in the real world. We have manufactured thousands and thousands of gallons of this material," Curran said, adding he needs FDA approval, and the makers of these masks to come to him and ask for the coating.
Check out how this world work in the video below.