Established under "The Kitchen" FoodTech Hub, owned by the Strauss Group in collaboration with Israel Innovation Authority, Bio-Fence has developed coatings designed to prevent infection by pathogenic bacteria, such as Listeria and Salmonella in food production environments.
The effectiveness of these coatings has been proven in laboratories under International Standard ISO 22196 and in food sites in Israel and worldwide.
With the outbreak of COVID-19, the company decided to test the effectiveness of its coatings against viruses as well.
The test was carried out in the laboratory of Prof. Mahmoud Huleihel, a virologist from Ben-Gurion University.
The test results show that the company's coating products completely destroy the herpes virus, which is significantly more durable than the coronavirus.
It is well established that surfaces in areas inhabited by carriers of Sars-CoV-2 can be infected by the virus for many days, and therefore, frequent disinfection is required to prevent the risk cross-infection.
Based on the recommendations of health and environmental organizations, chlorine-based materials are used as an effective disinfectant for surfaces from the coronavirus.
The anti-microbial, coating developed by Bio-Fence, is based on this effective chlorine killing mechanism and is unique in providing long-lasting protection, and by that significantly reducing the required frequency of disinfection.
The company's products can be used for coating walls, floors, partitions, and surfaces in institutions, hotels, offices, factories, train stations, airports, airplanes and more.
The technology is based on an innovative polymer, which can be combined within paints and coatings, providing them the ability to bind and stabilize chlorine. This, in turn, protects the coated surfaces for extended periods of time. The coatings are transparent and can be sprayed or painted quickly without damaging coated surfaces. This immediately creates an active, stable protection layer against the virus in case of infection.
Bio-Fence is currently developing a kit for testing the levels of active chlorine on the surfaces, to notify users when it should be reapplied (a simple action carried out by spraying or smearing a chlorine solution provided by Bio-Fence).
"For the past two years, Bio-Fence has developed technology that eradicates bacteria and viruses leaving a clean environment," Bio-Fence CEO Ofer Shoham said. "We focused on disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria, reaching significant achievements and proven feasibility in field conditions. The world's population is currently experiencing a significant change in lifestyle as a result of the coronavirus.
"We identified the need for an immediate and viable mechanism to allow a safe return to the working environment and routine we are all accustomed to," the CEO continued. "We were delighted to have this opportunity to join the global battle against the spread of the coronavirus. In recent weeks, the company's development team, led by Dr. Maria Hitrik, has been working day and night while remaining in line with Israel's Ministry of Health's guidelines, to make sure our technology is effective against the virus. I believe that with Bio-Fence's technology we will be able to help society regain some normalcy by maintaining spaces safe from bacterias and viruses."
