The Galway based medtech company Aquila Bioscience have been approved to provide their virus trapping decontamination wipes to the education sector.
Aquila Bioscience, an NUI Galway medtech spinout company based at the university, has created a new type of decontamination wipe that can trap biological agents, including viruses, without the use of chemicals.
This Anti Bioagent Decontamination (ABD) technology was developed in collaboration with the Czech University of Defense and Defense Forces Ireland to deal with biological contamination.
Aquila have now been made an approved supplier of PPE to the education sector, allowing up to 4,000 institutions to avail of their wipes.
As these wipes are free from any alcohol, biocides or other toxic chemicals, and so do not cause skin irritation or destroy skin cells, they can be used on sensitive skin surfaces like the eyes, nose and mouth.
The wipes act as a kind of “living velcro” operating at a nanoscale, due to containing specific carbohydrates and proteins that cause pathogens to stick, and bind, to them.
The wipe is made of biodegradable material and is environmentally friendly. ABDs are contained within individual pouches and so are easily distributed throughout schools.
Cormac Lynch, CEO of Aquila Bioscience, said “Being approved by the Department of Education to supply our ABD Devices is welcomed, and is a significant decision that will enhance the safety and protection of all staff and pupils in Ireland as our schools reopen.”
ABD’s are class I sterile medical devices and are used in emergency situations, and Aquila hopes to incorporate them into first aid kits in classrooms, offices, community areas and more to help keep staff and students safe as schools reopen.
