FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Imagine a spray disinfectant that protects hard surfaces from harboring or transferring bacteria and viruses like COVID-19 for multiple touches.

That's what chemical engineering professor Jamie Hestekin and doctoral candidate John Moore did. They envisioned a way to protect against the spread of disease from high-touch surfaces and developed it in partnership with two researchers at UAMS.

Meet the researchers as they share the story of this amazing discovery in the latest Short Takes video, Spraying Power.

The spray's effectiveness lasts longer than standard cleaning solutions and can withstand up to 50 touches on a metal surface.

Hestekin and Moor worked with professor Peter Crooks and postdoctoral fellow Soma Shekar Dachavaram of UAMS on the project, which builds on work started by Min Zou, U of A professor of mechanical engineering and Steve Stanley of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The technology is patent-pending, and funded by a $194,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.