TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY - NOT A PROCUREMENT, INL IS NOT SEEKING TO PROCURE ANY N95 RELATED TECHNOLOGIES CONCEPTUAL: Disinfection and Sterilization of N95 Masks and other Medical Equipment A new process that may be an effective way to sterilize and clean N95 masks. The process provides a quick, scalable, and easily implemented process to help address supply chain issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this disinfection and sterilization of N95 masks and other medical equipment process. This technology is conceptual and is in need of further testing. INL is currently seeking partners for both validation, scale-up, and manufacturing. Overview: This technology is a new process for treating used N95 masks and other medical equipment using dimethylether (DME) submersion. The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed several short comings in medical equipment supply chains, including the consumable N95 mask. Over time, as particles (dust, microbes, and viruses) and moisture are trapped in the N95 mask, the mask becomes more difficult to breathe through. Users are advised to regularly dispose of masks. Because N95 masks are in short supply, many healthcare workers must reuse these masks, putting them at risk for contracting COVID-19 and other diseases. DME submersion may be an effective way to sterilize and clean masks with-out impacting material integrity. Additional testing is necessary to validate effectiveness. Description: This technology is a process for using dimethylether (DME) submersion to allow for the re-use of N95 masks and other medical equipment. DME’s is attractive for treating medical equipment because of its unique chemical properties including: a) high polarity and ability to both absorb water and dissolve into water; b) a well characterized vapor-compression cycle (e.g., refrigerant R-E170); c) low human toxicity (used in food extraction and pharmaceutical systems); d) low reactivity and non-peroxide forming; and e) low-cost for mass-production. Submersion in liquid phase DME is expected to clean and sterilize contaminated N95 mask or other equipment with out impacting effectiveness for reuse. Once the residence time is complete, the DME can be pumped into a storage vessel for further use. Additional testing is necessary to validate effectiveness of the proposed process. Additives and mass transfer enhancements may also be used with the liquid DME to enhance its ability to disinfect/sterilize and clean. The development of other system design features will be necessary to allow for the deployment of the proposed DME mask submersion system. Benefits: Short process time compared to other methods DME submersion, evacuation process completes in less than an hour compared to 12 hours for other disinfection/sterilization techniques Scalable process DME is a readily available benign solvent commonly used in food processing and other applications Process may be compatible with other mechanical or chemical cleaning / sterilization methods Low cost for mass-production Applications: Disinfection and sterilization of N95 masks and oOther medical equipment as Development Status: TRL 3. Proof-of-concept is ongoing. Additional testing is necessary to validate effectiveness of the proposed process. Initial experiments indicate that process does not appear to degrade mask integrity. IP Status: US Patent Application No. 63/035,919, “Dimethylether Submersion for the Disinfection and Sterilization of N95 Masks and other Medical Equipment,” BEA Docket No. BA-1196. INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. A term-limited, royalty free, non-exclusive license may also be available. Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Ryan Bills at
[email protected] or 208-526-1896.