A small, veteran-owned business in Florida, Bloodstone Division, LLC, earned a $105,877 award from the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to fund the development of an antiviral disinfectant for COVID-19 and beyond.
Traditional disinfecting methods tend to be alcohol-based, but the DHS wants a faster and longer-lasting alternative without sacrificing its efficacy. Disinfectants are critical to halting the spread of many infectious diseases. Enter Bloodstone, which has teamed up with Kingfisher Medical to investigate the potential antiviral qualities of an existing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved active ingredient.
“Our goal is to find ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at DHS workplaces, with the greater benefit of producing a surface and hand disinfectant that could one day be used by all Americans,” Melissa Oh, Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) managing director, said. “This new application has the potential to provide long-lasting protection against and slow the spread of COVID-19 and possibly future viral pandemics.”
SVIP is a program run by S&T, which funds potentially useful and innovative projects. To spur innovation in the private sector, participating companies can gain up to $2 million in non-dilutive phases, spread across four phases, and develop and adapt commercial technologies for homeland security uses.
In the case of Bloodstone, the new antiviral idea sprang from the findings of a U.K Ministry of Defense study that tested the effects of the neat technical grade active ingredient, as well as the active ingredient in formulation on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Initial findings showed the virus could be rendered inactive for at least a couple of hours. Bloodstone wants to pursue independent testing to confirm and expand upon those results by assessing residual viricidal efficacy and applying the compound on personal protective equipment and surfaces for cleaning to inevitably determine whether the compound in question could be utilized as a disinfectant.
If successful, Bloodstone intends to seek additional approvals from either the EPA or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as necessary.
“DHS personnel working in austere environments, such as Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard, and Federal Emergency Management Administration may benefit from the dual-use properties of this product,” Wil Pharis, program manager of Mission Capability Support for S&T, said. “If the project is able to achieve its goals, it means the potential ability to rapidly disinfect security checkpoints, facilities, and extend the life of masks and PPE.”