Reusable Self-disinfecting Gloves for the Mitigation of Pathogen Spread

Web Published:
5/12/2020
Description:

Reusable Self-disinfecting Gloves

for the Mitigation of Pathogen Spread

Princeton Docket # 20-3700

       

Researchers in the Department of Physics at Princeton University have designed reusable self-disinfecting gloves for both commercial and medical use. This technology functions by using an inner impermeable layer of material and an outer semipermeable membrane with a thin layer of disinfectant nested in between.

 

The SARS-Cov2 pandemic has forcibly focused attention on the challenge of maintaining consistent daily vigilance with respect to contact mediated transmission of pathogens. Such contact involves touching a pathogen bearing surface followed by involuntary transfer to the mucosal lining of the nose, mouth, or eye. The standard advice is to wash or sanitize hands regularly to interrupt this transfer. While this course of action is correct, it requires constant vigilance and is likely to suffer from a significant failure rate under normal conditions.  This self-disinfecting glove technology represents a significant step forward in our ability to mitigate the transfer pathway of pathogens from infected surfaces to exposed areas of the body.

 

Applications

  •        Consumer-level use for protection against pathogen bearing surfaces
  •        Medical applications to reduce possible pathogen spread within a facility

 

Advantages

 

  •          Mitigates the possibility of pathogen spread from non-sterile glove surfaces
  •        Reduces disposable glove demand and waste in times of scarcity

 

Intellectual Property & Development Status

 

Patent protection is pending. Princeton is currently seeking commercial partners for the further development and commercialization of this opportunity.

 

The Inventors

Shivaji Sondhi is a professor of physics at Princeton University. His group studies quantum condensed matter physics with a focus on strongly correlated systems. He has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and the Europhysics Prize.

 

Robert Austin is a professor of physics at Princeton University. His group focuses on the use of microarrays and nanotechnology to further our physical understanding of biological processes. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He has also been awarded a Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, the Max Delbruck Biological Physics Price of the APS, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

Contact:

 

Laurie J. Tzodikov

Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing

(609) 258-7256 • tzodikov@princeton.edu

 

Sean King

Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing

sbking@princeton.edu

 

 

 

 

Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Laurie Tzodikov
Licensing Associates
Princeton University
tzodikov@Princeton.EDU
Inventors:
Robert Austin
Shivaji Sondhi
Keywords: