The te Velthuis lab has been awarded support from the Dean for Research Innovation Fund for New Industrial Collaborations. A.J. te Velthuis, assistant professor of molecular biology, will collaborate with scientists at Ascend Performance Materials to develop smart surfaces that can detect, trap and inactivate viruses. The work follows the team’s earlier demonstration that nylon face masks embedded with zinc ions exhibit antiviral properties against influenza and coronaviruses. The researchers will extend their work to explore how zinc inactivates enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.

The fund supports research collaborations between industry and academia with the goal of fostering basic research that has the potential to yield products, technologies, or services for societal benefit. The award provides University funding for one year followed by a second year of funding contingent on matching funds from an industrial collaborator.