LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: HR001120S0019-12

Description

Given the current pandemic caused by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the persistent threat of chemical and biological (CB) warfare to deployed U.S forces, the need for active decontamination methods to neutralize CB threats is at an all-time high. Current military decontamination efforts are labor and resource intensive, requiring excessive amounts of water, use corrosive and/or toxic materials, and are not environmentally safe.  Consequently, current research and development trends focus on developing decontamination systems that overcome these limitations while decontaminating a broad spectrum of CB threats.  The ideal approach would be surface treatments that rapidly self-decontaminate the harmful agent or threat upon contact, but currently there are no commercially available products that offer the durability and activity required.  Therefore, there is a need for novel coating systems that actively decontaminate at the surface, and maintain this activity despite standard wear and environmental exposure.  Luna Innovations, proposes to develop a durable coating  that will actively decontaminate chemical and biological threats on surfaces in less than 5 minutes of surface contact, over a 5-year lifetime of use.