Southern Barcode has come up with an idea for a product that reportedly reduces COVID-19 germs and prevents cross-contamination on various surfaces.
The antimicrobial film is offered as a bespoke product to the retail and hospitality sectors. The product can be used on door handles, door push plates, tabletops, or any other surfaces that are touched by different people.
In the cruise industry, the company hopes to sell the product to Virgin, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and other cruise lines Southern Barcode has worked with in the past, said the company’s CEO, Simon Vinall.
The film works as an adhesive that can be attached to any surface, and when a person who has COVID-19 touches it – even if their hands carry the germs – the silver nitrate that’s in the film will reportedly reduce their growth.
“[With this product], you can effectively sanitize an area without having to constantly deploy people to spray and wipe,” Vinall said. “It’s almost an automatic process. The silver nitrate that’s in the film automatically kills any bacteria, so it’s continually sanitizing itself as opposed to having to rely on somebody sanitizing it as part of their process. And between the sanitations, you might have 20 people touch that door who may or may not have washed their hands – it takes that all away.”
In addition to COVID-19, the silver ions that are in the film have been tested to reduce the growth of the H1N1 virus, as well as E. Coli, Salmonella enteric, and other bacteria.
One film lasts for six months unless damaged, Vinall said. The surfaces that have the film on them would still need to be cleaned regularly.
The product size and volume, as well as the print that goes on it, can be adjusted according to the company’s wishes for application.
The film, once you do need to replace it, “removes clean” and “doesn’t leave a residue,” Vinall said.
“You place [the film] where it works … If it’s a door with a push plate or a swinging door, you’d put it on the push plate. If it’s a door where you’ve got to turn the door handle, you wrap it around the handle,” he said. “The price is bespoke because for now, it depends on the size of the piece of film … The price is calculated for each application.”
Corrections and Amplifications: An earlier version of this article stated that the antimicrobial film kills COVID-19 germs. After clarification from the company that supplies the product to Southern Barcode, we have changed the word “kills” to “reduces” and added that the product would need to be used in combination with good cleaning and hygiene practices.
