Coatings World - March 2010

be and often are iterative. Ultimately, the integration of these various influences and development of the methodology to monitor and assess the critical variables is required for development of functional coating systems and for moving products from the development stage into a commercial product.

Scalability and economic impact are additional considerations. Blending is clearly the easiest and most cost effective method, but its physical impact must be evaluated. Note: For some additives, it is also possible to apply the additive as a separate topcoat over the dried film. This choice is attractive for improving the functionality of existing surfaces without the need for complete recoating.

Bioadditive stability is also an issue that must be addressed. It can be affected by formulation ingredients such as solvents, as well as by processing conditions and the means of immobilization. Once encapsulated within the film, the presence or absence of water, changes in pH, temperature and other aspects of the environment can also impact bioadditive performance.

Reactive Surfaces as well as other innovative companies
and academic research groups have initiated intensive
efforts to overcome these formulating challenges. In fact,
the level of complexity can be considered an opportunity.
With the ability to control and adjust so many different
variables, it should be possible to optimize paint and coat-
ing formulations for maximum stability and activity while
increasing the number of potentially different product vari-
ations. Ultimately this means that bioengineered additives
can be carefully designed to meet the specific performance
requirements of many different applications and provide
high value-added formulations.

FROM DEVELOPMENT
TO COMMERCIALIZATION

As mentioned above, biomolecules, particularly enzymes and peptides, have been widely used in various different industries for several decades. The technology for producing such bioactive compounds is well established and been shown to be cost effective on a large scale. In some cases, commercially available enzymes or peptides may be useful as additives without any need for further bioengineering efforts. In other cases, specially designed bioadditives will be required.

Reactive Surfaces has established partnerships with different academic research groups and loading biotechnology companies to ensure that production of proprietary bioadditives will be possible at scale in an economically viable manner. Access to existing manufacturing capacity will result in short commercialization times and increased speed to market. In addition, relationships with polymer chemistry experts and leading international paint manufacturers provide access to necessary formulation expertise.

OPDtox and DeGreez have already been launched and ProteCoat will follow once EPA registration has been com-

Interested in learning more about bio-engineered additives for coatings?

Join us on March 24th for a FREE webinar!

Commoditization threatens future growth of the paint and coatings industry, leaving formulators to find other means of differentiation. The need for innovation is imperative. Research and development of functional, biobased additives are leading to the creation of high value, high performing ingredients that can help revitalize the industry. Join industry pioneer RSL and Coatings World for a FREE webinar that covers the brave new world of bio based functional additives.