Coatings World - November 2015

are awarded to an individual who restores the interior of any make of vehicle using ColorBond products. Last year’s winner restored a 1967 Cadillac Deville and this year’s winner restored a 1954 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. The Rolls will be on display in our booth at SEMA this year.

Austin, Texas based Reactive Surfaces is a bioengineering company that develops enzyme-based additives for paint to detoxify neurotoxins, including nerve agents and pesticides.

CW: When did you form Reactive
Surfaces & why did you feel you could
have a viable product in these markets?
Reactive Surfaces: “We started Reactive
Surfaces with the concept that it might be
possible to extract valuable functionality
from nature and entrain it into coatings
in a long-term stable manner.”
“The attack on the World Trade center
brought our self-decontaminating coatings
into the spotlight in 2001. We started the
company in earnest in 2002. By 2008,
we had developed the technology well
enough to be awarded the 2008 American
Coatings Award for innovative technology.

After over ten years, we can say that it’s not only possible to place biological molecules into resin systems but that it can be accomplished for a wide array of natural functions from enzymes generating self-degreasing surfaces capable of removing human fingerprints from touch screen devices and countertops, to non-toxic peptides that create anti-microbial surfaces for medical devices and kitchen appliances. The formulator can now dependably “dial in” natural functionality to its existing coating products.

CW: According to Michael Porter, a NICHE position in a specific well-defined market segment has the highest profits in that segment as well as a UNIQUE offering. UNIQUE is defined as having something no one else possesses. Would you say your offerings are unique by this definition? Why?

RSL: “We believe RSL is the first and
only company commercializing bio-based
molecules as functional additives for coat-
ings. But, the competition is not far behind
– since the industry is realizing just how
valuable such functionality can be, and
how biological molecules such as enzymes,
peptides, antibodies, and the like exist in
Nature ready-made for such work. We are
the only group that presently offers these
bio-based additives, as well as functional-
ized coatings containing them. With the
launch of our e-RACE line of anti-finger-
printing touch screen protectors, we can
also say we are unique in offering a finished
consumer product coated with a functional
coating entraining a bio-based molecule
(the naturally-occurring enzyme, lipase).

CW: Can you provide some insight into why or how your bio-based additive technology works with so many different types of resin systems and on a variety of substrates? RSL: “The trick seems to be that in their natural condition, many of these molecules are actually entrained into biological surfaces. Take for instance our anti-microbial peptide products like ProteCoat®. Almost all higher organisms use anti-microbial peptides as a part of their natural defense systems against surface contamination. These peptides are present on the surfaces of the organisms most at-risk of infection. Enzymes like to “packaged” and constrained from unfolding, so the cross-linked cages created by polymerization of a wide number of resin systems do a nice job of that.”

CW: Most people in the industry regard biological molecules as too unstable and short-lived to be useful as additives in coatings. What is the longevity of your additives in a coating and how rugged are they to weathering?

RSL: “I understand the sentiment, and I initially felt the same way. But, now with tons of testing and years of experience, we now have a rule of thumb around here – if the coating lasts, the functionality will last.

For example, we have entrained enzymatic
degreasing functionality (DeGreez™) in
coatings, coated panels with them, and then
subjected those coatings to MEK double-
rubs down to the bare metal. Not only did
the enzymatic activity remain all the way
until the coating is finally scrubbed off, it
actually increased as more of the surface
was exposed to the grease challenges it
was designed to combat. Additionally, we
entrained enzymes capable of detoxifying
nerve gases (OPDtox®) into military
coatings and placed panels coated atop
black rotor blades of military helicopters.
These coupons were left in the desert sun
for months, and they demonstrated virtu-
ally the same enzymatic activity they had
the day they were made. This is also true
our peptide biocides (ProteCoat®), being
subjected to long-term ( 4+ years) outdoor
weathering at USM. The panels coated
with the peptide-containing outdoor
white paints remain virtually microbe-free
throughout the testing period as opposed to
heavy contamination of control coatings.”

CW: Are the bio-based additives, coatings and coated products you market exclusive to your use or do you also allow other coating companies to market your unique products?

RSL: “We have a manufacturing facility in Hattiesburg, MS where our labs are also located. We build the additives, formulate the coatings and manufacture the sheet materials for touch screens there. Our marketing capability is somewhat limited. We are the epitome of the “Little Engine That Could” mentality. However, it has always been the overriding goal to partner commercialization of the technology we have developed with others in order to access the larger commercial markets.”

CW: How do you go-to-market currently? Direct, Stocking Distributors, etc.? Colorbond: “We directly market our bio-based functional coatings applied to adhesive sheet materials, such as are designed for anti-fingerprinting touch screen protectors (e-RACE™), through mass-marketing channels (internet, TV, printed catalogs, etc.). We use fulfillment services for some of this. We also spend a considerable amount of manpower publishing articles in industry publications. www.reactivesurfaces.com. Using these approaches, we have been able to garner the attention of larger corporate partners who are interested in incorporating our additives or bio-based coatings containing these into their own product lines, and we are presently moving toward commercialization with several of them.”