Biocides deter or exert a controlling effect on harmful organisms, bacteria and fungi. The use of biocides, in disinfectants and antiseptics, is a key component for many effective programmes in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections. However serious concerns about the resistance of bacterial pathogens to biocides has been growing for a number of years. Hence there is an increasing demand for different biocides to be found. This is rather difficult due to the majority of current biocides (99.5%) being chemically derived and containing halogen, metallic and phenolic compounds. As a result, the biocides industry has been severely challenged on the lack of sustainability and levels of toxicity. Byotrol proposes to overcome these growing concerns and limitations by extracting and formulating biocides from the alternative, renewable and natural resource of seaweed.

Biocides deter or exert a controlling effect on harmful organisms, bacteria and fungi. The use of biocides, in disinfectants and antiseptics, is a key component for many effective programmes in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections. However serious concerns about the resistance of bacterial pathogens to biocides has been growing for a number of years. Hence there is an increasing demand for different biocides to be found. This is rather difficult due to the majority of current biocides (99.5%) being chemicallyderived and containing halogen, metallic and phenolic compounds. As a result, the biocides industry has been severely challenged on the lack of sustainability and levels of toxicity. Byotrol proposes to overcome these growing concerns and limitations by extracting and formulating biocides from the alternative, renewable and natural resource of seaweed.

Byotrol is a North West based SME focussed on developing and commercialising products based upon their highly unique, innovative, anti-microbial cleaning solution. Put simply, when applied to a surface, the solution will not only kill bacteria but will continue to protect against bacteria hours after its application. Byotrol wish to develop a second generation solution that can be modified the meet the challenging environments such a hospitals, the home and mobile treatments while still retaining the residual and anti-microbial properties. In order to achieve this research will be done into the modifiable properties of the current solution and different biocide-polymer combinations experimented with in order to enhance the solutions properties. Solutions for the healthcare and military environments will then be developed and a pre-production prototype of a wound dressing incorporating the developed solution produced. The project is expected to cost £1.5 million pounds, which represents a considerable amount of money and risk for an SME such as Byotrol. NWDA supported is needed if therefore requested in order to enable the project to take place. Doing so would ensure the highly innovative commercial project takes place in the North West and the safeguarding of 3 highly skilled R&D at Daresbury. It would also allow the North West to take the lead in the next generation anti-microbial technology that will directly benefit the NHS and MOD.