Corning’s latest antimicrobial technology has been awarded gold for Most Innovative Product of the Year in the healthcare and medical category.
Corning® Guardiant® was recently named one of the most innovative products of the year by Best in Biz Awards 2021 International. The breakthrough antimicrobial surface technology received the gold award in the healthcare and medical category.
Best in Biz Awards is an independent global business awards program judged each year by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications from around the world. The award recognizes excellence in business leadership, operations and service, and innovation by upholding strict standards of scoring to ensure winning entries are unparalleled in quality.
“We were inspired to create Guardiant to help fill a need for long-term antimicrobial products, and the pandemic has further emphasized the need in healthcare environments and beyond to ease anxiety around contaminated surfaces,” said Joydeep Lahiri, Division Vice President and Director of Specialty Surfaces, Corning Incorporated. “This award indicates there’s heightened interest in innovations targeting surface contamination by potentially harmful pathogens.”
Corning Guardiant is an additive for paints and coatings that contains antimicrobial copper. Coatings formulated with Guardiant impart a new functionality on painted surfaces that keeps the most effective form of copper readily available for reducing harmful germs.
Corning scientists developed Guardiant by inventing a unique glass ceramic composition that traps powerful copper ions and releases them over time. By combining the technical functionality of specialty glass ceramic with the well-known antimicrobial properties of copper, products formulated with Guardiant have been shown to exhibit long-term antimicrobial efficacy, which can supplement the short-term surface protection offered by liquid disinfectants.
Paint and coatings containing Corning Guardiant have been shown in laboratory testing to kill a broad spectrum of bacteria and viruses with 99.9% efficacy in two hours or less using rigorous test methods approved by the U.S. EPA. The spectrum of pathogens that Guardiant-powered coating have been shown to kill includes: SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; harder to kill viruses such as feline calicivirus; and gram positive, gram negative, and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Prior to making claims in the United States against harmful germs such as SARS-CoV-2, finished products incorporating Corning Guardiant must first be registered with the U.S. EPA.
The Best in Biz Awards Most Innovative Product of the Year is Corning’s third accolade for Guardiant this year, preceded by a gold win from the Edison Awards and a Ringier Technology Innovation Award. “It’s been great to receive such broad recognition, but what really drives us is seeing Guardiant-powered products become more widely available around the globe,” said Lahiri.
Corning is currently collaborating with leading paint and coatings manufacturers around the world to develop products containing Corning Guardiant that meet government and regulatory requirements.
