COVID-19: An antimicrobial agent in aluminium can make it worry-free

Technology has been developed by a small company in Quebec, Canada, that makes it possible to eliminate for years all the viruses that can be found on surfaces with frequent contact.

Guy Leblanc, Vice-President and Medical Advisor said: “A3 Surfaces has designed a process that incorporates and seals an antimicrobial agent in aluminium. We were topical before COVID-19, we are even more today.”

In 2009, the product of academic work by two students, Maxime Dumont and Jocelyn Lambert, the technology targeted bacteria that often swarm in hospitals, such as C. difficile.

Guy Leblanc also said: “In these pandemic times, the demand has gone mad for A3 Surfaces technology.”

In contrary, the experiment carried out in a room at the Chicoutimi hospital coated with surfaces treated by the A3 Surfaces process has been delayed due to the pandemic.

Guy Leblanc is a doctor-surgeon. He immediately saw the potential of this technology for medical uses. The benefits of using medical equipment made from antimicrobial material are obvious. Like those of coating the surfaces that employees, patients and visitors touch most often.

The company's potential market is, however, infinitely larger. It ranges from the handles of grocery carts, to grab bars on buses and subways, to staircase handrails and packaging products. The ventilation ducts of buildings, where bacteria that can cause legionella to proliferate, are also in the crosshairs of the SME of seven employees.

The process developed by A3 Surfaces is patent pending. It is both simple and complex, explains Dr. Leblanc. The basic material, aluminium, is first anodized. This process, which smooths the metal, creates nanopores on the surface. These nanopores are filled with an antimicrobial agent and then sealed.

Tests carried out by the National Research Council of Canada and other accredited laboratories indicate that the surfaces thus treated make it possible to eliminate (99.99%) the risks of contamination from bacterial and viral diseases.

The treatment can last for years, according to Guy Leblanc, and the surfaces can be reprocessed to prolong its effect.

A3 Surfaces has a factory project in Saguenay, where it could manufacture its products and process those sent by its customers. The small business, which has benefited from a lot of support since its inception, including those of Desjardins and Rio Tinto, is aware that it will need to enter into alliances to reach the major leagues.

With the right strategic partner, A3 Surfaces believes it can maintain control over a Quebec technology that uses aluminium produced in Quebec.