Technological watch

A partnership between Braskem and AlpFilm gave rise to PVC ALPFILM PROTECT, a transparent PVC plastic film with silver and silica microparticles capable of inactivating 79.9% of the new coronavirus in three minutes and 99.99% in up to 15 minutes. The product is already available on the market, is normally used to pack foods such as meats, fruits and cold cuts and now gains more possibilities for application, such as surface protection.
Achieving Virucidal Function in Plastic Film
Braskem's Vinyl Application Engineering team supported AlpFilm in developing the formulation that gives rise to the film, maximizing the potential for protection against fungi and bacteria, and achieving virucidal function - that is, capable of eliminating viruses. In a second step, the plastic film received the addition of silver and silica based on the technology developed and licensed by the São Paulo company Nanox with support from the FAPESP Innovative Research in Small Business Program (PIPE).
The tests to prove the capacity of the plastic packaging to eliminate SARS-CoV-2, a virus that causes Covid-19, were conducted by the level 3 biosafety laboratory (NB3) of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB -USP) and in accordance with ISO 21702: 2019, technical standard for measuring antiviral activity in plastics and other non-porous surfaces.
"The product has existed since 2014 and already had antifungal and bactericidal properties thanks to the presence of silver microparticles, but with the pandemic we submitted it to a series of studies to adapt its composition in order to ensure its antiviral efficacy, especially against the new coronavirus. Faced with the challenges imposed by Covid-19, we decided to turn our attention to research and development of this product evolution for the inactivation of the new coronavirus by contact ", explains Alessandra Zambaldi, director of foreign trade and marketing at Alpes.