Quick-Med Technologies, a US-based life sciences company, obtained a notice-of-allowance for a new US patent covering Nimbus, its antimicrobial technology custom designed for wound care and other medical applications.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has allowed all 41 claims in Quick-Med’s US patent application no. 12/830,062 titled, "Polyelectrolyte Complex For Imparting Antimicrobial Properties To A Substrate."
The new patent covers an advanced method that utilizes a poly-electrolyte complex (PEC) for preparing the company’s Nimbus antimicrobial products.
The PEC complex which consists of a negatively-charged (anionic) polymer is used to stabilize the active antimicrobial agent — a positively-charged (cationic) polymer.
Quick-Med’s R&D vice-president Dr William Toreki said the PEC method is an important improvement in the way the company manufactures its NIMBUS materials.
"The PEC makes the antimicrobial component more adherent on a molecular level, and that makes it easier to attach it to the surfaces of bandages and wound dressings," Dr Toreki added.
Additionally, the PEC complex helps create new applications and products by allowing the Nimbus polymer to be bonded to a wider variety of substrates.
Quick-Med expects the new patent which will provide protection until 2030 to be issued by November 2013.