Kastus and Trinity Amber centre unite to tackle spread of superbugs

Irish tech company Kastus has linked up with Trinity College materials science centre Amber as part of a €280,000 research programme to further develop antimicrobial coatings.

As part of the programme, which is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, researchers Dr Aran Rafferty and Dr Ehsan Rezvani will join Kastus from Amber. Dr Rafferty is an expert in materials R&D and problem-solving, with specialist knowledge of technical glass and ceramic development; Dr Rezvani has a PhD in materials.

The company, which won the overall title at the Irish Times Innovation awards in 2017, has already developed ground-breaking technology to help prevent the spread of superbugs that can be used on surfaces from ceramic and glass tiles to smartphones, door handles and metals.

Harmful bacteria

Kastus’s technology can be applied to surfaces to make them 99.9 per cent resistant to harmful bacteria and micro-organisms, such as MRSA and E. coli.

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“The collaboration with Science Foundation Ireland through Amber is an exciting move for Kastus and demonstrates the links that we are continuing to forge with academia,” said Dr James Kennedy, Kastus director of innovation and operations.

“World-class research is extremely important to Kastus and with two highly-qualified and respected researchers joining the Kastus team, this can only propel the company even further.”