Halomine Press Kit
Corporate
Company Overview
Who are we?
Halomine is developing the next generation of antimicrobial products to provide long lasting protection against pathogens.
What do we do?
Our first product, HaloFilm turns any surface into an antimicrobial surface by holding chlorine from store-bought disinfectants on surfaces in a safe and effective manner for as long as a month.
How do we do it?
HaloFilm contains a novel polymer that when sprayed on creates a thin transparent film that binds to the surface and to chlorine, at levels equivalent to what you would find in a pool. Chlorine is a universally used as a disinfectant against bacteria, virus and fungi, but has a short effective life. We extend the lifetime and overall utility of chlorine to protect surfaces continuously.
Who do we do it for?
Our focus is on high touch surfaces in hospitals, mass transit systems, schools, and more; wherever pathogens spread and endanger human health.
Halomine is a Cornell University-based spin out company founded in 2018 to pursue commercial opportunities for inventions that came out of the collaboration of its founders Dr. Qiao and Professor Ma. it has been aggressively expanding on research and found assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), the US Army’s xTechSearch program, US Department of the Army’s SBIR Program, the National Science Foundation’s SBIR Program, LaunchNY, FuzeHub, the Materials Research Society, and others. In addition to licensing technology from Cornell University, they have also licensed N-halamine technology from Auburn University, where they have been working on N-halamine development for 30 years.
Halomine has brought in experienced management and rounded out the list of advisors to include key personnel in infectious disease and business areas. The ultimate vision is to create a company that is synonymous with antimicrobial products that generally use N-halamine as an enabling technology. Halomine has received a USDA Phase I SBIR to pursue HaloFilm for use in food safety for food processing plants and are looking to evaluate HaloFilm for hospital applications. It is aggressively expanding its technology to new products, including advanced wound dressings for the military and protective coatings for medical devices.
Latest Press Releases
Scientific Description
The scientific basis of all of Halomine’s products is N-halamine, a potent molecule having broad biocidal function, low-cost, and low-toxicity. The biocidal principle of N-halamine is similar to other chlorine-based compounds such as hypochlorite. The underlying invention lies in the creation of a polymer which combines bio-inspired adhesion chemistry using the l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) structure within the byssus of mussel, and N-halamine antimicrobial chemistry to create a new antimicrobial coating, HaloFilm. Adding to the antimicrobial effect of N-halamine, Halomine has created formulations that enhance functionality with the addition of anti-fouling monomers, zwitterion or poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG). These anti-fouling monomers incorporated into the HaloFilm polymer will help deter protein and pathogen formation automatically. This in turn provides protection for the surface even when the chlorine charge is fully dissipated or before it is charged.
Our Products
HaloFilm
HaloFilm is a disinfectant companion product that acts as a chlorine extender holding chlorine on a surface in a safe and effective manner. After being sprayed on, HaloFilm leaves behind a thin transparent film on plastics, glass, metals, rubber, leather, and even cloth. That film holds chlorine that comes from regular use of chlorinated sanitizers, disinfectants, bleaches, and cleaners. Normally, a chlorinated disinfectant will only kill bacteria and viruses for the 10-15 minutes that the disinfectant remains on the surface before being wiped off. HaloFilm does not wipe off a surface easily, and bonds to the chlorine providing continuous antimicrobial power. As a first step, HaloFilm is to be sprayed on surfaces containing stainless steel, plastic, painted, rubber surfaces or cloth to create a thin, clear film. This step is followed by sanitizing the surface with a chlorinated product.
Used in conjunction with a chlorinated product, HaloFilm can keep chlorine working on surfaces for days. On hard surfaces, it is possible to test for the presence of chlorine using the same tests people use to check for chlorine in a pool. Re-applying a chlorinated product to a HaloFilm protected surface will re-charge that surface with chlorine. HaloFilm probably needs to be re-applied weekly or monthly depending upon the disinfecting schedule.
Benefits:
Antimicrobial: Holds chlorine to kill a variety of pathogens
Long-acting: Single application of HaloFilm and chlorine can last a month
Compatibility: Creates film on hard and soft, porous and non-porous surfaces
Safe: Non-toxic and safe to the touch for children and pets
Environmentally friendly: Reduce the use of chlorine to accomplish the same level of sanitization
Scientific Description - HaloFilm
HaloFilm is a unique rechargeable antimicrobial liquid spray that creates an antimicrobial film on almost any surface. It is a spray-on product that when dried leaves a thin transparent film on a surface. The film is a polymer composed of one monomer to stick to the surface, and another monomer that stabilizes chlorine, i.e. N-halamine. N-halamines are a group of compounds that contain nitrogen-halogen bonds formed through halogenation of nitrogen-hydrogen bond. The proprietary polymer is then put into a solution using an environmentally friendly solvent (~60-80% ethanol or other alcohol and ~20- 40% water) to form HaloFilm. HaloFilm can be sprayed using a bottle (or dip/wipe coated) on a variety of surfaces. This new composition of matter polymer is inert, non-toxic and safe for use.
HaloCare
HaloCare encompasses a collection of products that incorporate Halomine’s core chemistries to make the next generation of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-adhesion wound dressings. This product has received significant support from the US Army for the development of this material and has been an xTechSearch 2.0 finalist.
HaloCare products come in “wet” and “dry” forms. The “wet” versions incorporate antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-adhesion chemistries into a hydrogel to maintain moisture in the wound bed. The “dry” versions incorporate antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-adhesion chemistries into woven materials, i.e. bandages, and can include hemostatic agents and other chemistries as needed.
The most common antimicrobial material used in wound dressings is silver. Extensive testing has been performed to compare the material to silver using the ESKAPE group of organisms from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and found that HaloCare is significantly better at reducing pathogen levels than silver.
Benefits:
Antimicrobial: Kills pathogens better than silver
Compatibility: Does not induce inflammation
Non-adhesive: Does not adhere to wound
Long-term: Allows longer time between wound dressing changes
Moist: Hydrogel formulation keeps wound moist
HaloCoat
HaloCoat is the next generation of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-adhesion coating systems for medical devices. A variety of devices including catheters and scopes will enter the human body and become a vector for pathogen transmission. In addition, they will generate an immune response because they are considered a “foreign body”. HaloCoat uses a combination of anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesion chemistries to minimize the immune response and kill pathogens. The main product target for HaloCoat is coating urinary catheters. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections are the most common type of healthcare-associated infection, however, currently there is no effective technology to address the problem. Combined with a hydrogel coating to lubricate the surfaces, the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-adhesion coating should reduce infections for a variety of indications.
Benefits:
Antimicrobial: Kills pathogens better than silver
Anti-inflammatory: Minimizes immune response
Anti-fouling: Avoids debris build up
Long-acting: Provides protection for as long as a month
Comfort: Hydrogel formulation provides lubricity for insertion and removal
HaloAdd
HaloAdd takes two principle chemical expertise of Halomine, N-halamine and zwitterions, and makes them into a plastics additive. At low fractional percentages, HaloAdd can provide antimicrobial and anti-fouling capabilities to almost any thermoplastic. Potential applications include film coverings for touch screens, medical devices, food implements and storage containers, and more. Without the need to re-apply a coating, like HaloFilm, HaloAdd provides permanent, robust – even to scratches – protection for a variety of plastics parts.
Benefits:
Antimicrobial: Kills pathogens better than silver
Long-acting: Provides permanent protection without reapplication
Compatibility: Compatible with a variety of plastic parts
Anti-fouling: Avoids debris build up
Meet the Team
Ted Eveleth
CEO, Halomine
Ted Eveleth is an experienced entrepreneur who has been a key component of several companies. He has been CEO, COO, CFO and Chairman in companies covering a broad range of technologies including medical devices, life science molecular tools, waste heat to energy conversion, new materials, and ME MS devices. Mr. Eveleth received a BA in Economics Phi Beta Kappa in three years from Union College and an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University. He has raised more than $50 million in venture and private equity, $14 million in grant funding from the NIH and NSF among others, and $70 million in project financing. He was also the Technology Entrepreneur in Residence at the Small Business Development Center at the University of Albany and has been a reviewer for the NSF. He was a founding member of Veratag, LLC, HocusLocus, LLC and Cyclics Corporation.
Dr. Greg Bertsch
Executive Chairman, Halomine
Dr. Greg Bertsch is an experienced entrepreneur having founded Antimicrobial Material Inc. and has received multiple SBIR (Phase I and II) grants from multiple institutions including USDA, NIH, and Department of Defense. He has been working on N-halamine technology for 6 years and has experience bringing one product (antimicrobial latex paint) close to commercialization. He has also experience of marketing to our targeted customer segments (hospital infection control) with different products such as antimicrobial wall paint and wound dressings. He has also worked for 15 years as an executive in the manufacturing industry (Adam Thermal Systems) in business development. Dr. Bertsch also went through the National I-Corps Team project together with Dr. Qiao as Industry Mentor.
Dr. Mingyu Qiao
CTO, Halomine
Dr. Mingyu Qiao is the co-founder of Halomine Inc and the coinventor of N-halamine technology. With his interdisciplinary background in microbiology, chemistry, engineering, and toxicology, he has been focusing on N-halamine technology for about 5 years and published 13 papers related to N-halamine within the past four years. He performed his graduate research within the group where N-halamine chemistry was first invented (Auburn University) and has a deep understanding of this technology. In addition, Dr. Qiao has participated in the training of both UNY I-Corps Node (Entrepreneur Lead) and National I-Corps Team (Technical Lead) projects (Team HaloCoating, 2018 August Washington DC cohort).
Latest Press Releases
Mentions
Halomine featured in Cornell Chronical
(May 2020)
Halomine Brand Logos
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