Triple-A-COAT meeting and 6 month update
The Triple-A-COAT consortium held its 2nd meeting in Kortrijk, Belgium, home of the KU Leuven Sustainable Materials Laboratory, in the first week of March 2023. Over 20 project team members gathered over 2 days to discuss the progress so far.
So far, the project has been running for 6 months. In Kortrijk, Triple-A-COAT partners shared results of their first experiments and tests.
Triple-A-COAT partners
Work has started on the functionalisation of nanocellulose, with antimicrobial/antiviral compounds (KU Leuven and Stellenbosch University), and by nanopatterning (Imperial College). Several functionalisation approaches are being evaluated, for example different types of chemical reaction to link the antimicrobial/antiviral compounds to nanocellulose. Alternatively, some of the compounds may already bind tightly to nanocellulose and not require a chemical bond, and this approach is also being investigated.
This stage of the project also focuses on how to best work with the three nanocellulose materials used in Triple-A-COAT: cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibers, and bacterial nanocellulose supplied by our industrial partners Melodea, Sappi and Cellugy, respectively. In particular:
-which testing methods for antimicrobial activity, coating properties and toxicity work best with the nanocellulose materials
-the optimal nanocellulose formulations to obtain an effective, durable coating
-effects of sterilization methods on nanocellulose, where these are required for antimicrobial activity testing
Along with presentations from partners, some “workshop time” was allocated for detailed technical discussions about various experimental procedures. We also found time to make some short videos which will feature in our social media over the next few months!
Wim Thielemans, head of the KU Leuven Sustainable Materials Laboratory, said “It’s great to feel the buzz in the room when all the partners sit together. Everyone brings and shares their experience to work towards a common end goal. It was great to be able to host the consortium and I look forward to visiting the other partners.”
