The coronavirus pandemic will change many sectors forever, and as in all crises, there are always sectors that see opportunity and experience growth during these periods and others that fail to adapt and evolve. Nobody could have anticipated that we were going to have hydroalcoholic gel on our shopping list every week and neither could we have anticipated that face masks were going to be mandatory, but this last rule, has been surprisingly beneficial for the nanotechnology sector.
In the following article, we talk about the future of nanotechnology with Antonio Onteniente, CEO of Advanced Nanotechnologies.
Do you think the pandemic situation has generated more need for nanotechnology-related products? Can you identify some examples?
Opportunities arise from crises. In our case, one of Advanced Nanotechnologies’ solutions is proving much more successful than in the past due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19 and all the new health regulations. We are talking about our anti-fogging solution.
In Spain and many other European countries, the use of masks in public spaces has been mandatory for months. But for those who wear glasses and especially for people who need to wear glasses in their professional environments, the face mask is a problem because it fogs up the lenses and makes wearing a mask even more uncomfortable. Due to this problem, the demand for anti-fogging glasses has increased considerably.
In addition, some Start Up’s have developed transparent COVID masks to facilitate communication for deaf-mute people, and these require the application of an anti-fogging solution so that lips and mouths can be read. This business was unthinkable before the pandemic.
What problems arising from coronavirus can any of AN’s products solve?
Apart from the anti-fogging solutions, we are being consulted much more frequently for anti-bacterial and anti-virus nano-coating applications.
What relationship has AN had with the healthcare sector prior to the COVID pandemic, and what changes have you noticed?
Before the pandemic, we did not have an entry in the health sector and nowadays we do and with a lot of international projection. Everything related to protective masks in the healthcare sector is looking for innovation in anti-fog, anti-scratch, anti-bacterial and anti-virus.
Could you explain any new cases/clients following the pandemic that AN has helped in the last few months? How?
There are large manufacturers of ophthalmic lenses that will be using our anti-fogging solution soon, but I think the most interesting cases to explain here are the three European Start Up’s that have chosen our anti-fogging solution for their transparent masks:
How do you see the future of nanotechnology in general as a result of this new situation? And in which countries do you see more projection for your company?
Nanotechnology will play an even more important role in the industry and, above all, its application in the health sector will be even more relevant than before. The regions that follow in detail the innovations in nanotechnology remain the same as in recent years:
- Europe
- Japan
- China
- South Korea
- United States
In our opinion, the United States is the number one market and countries such as Japan, Germany, Finland and France are at the forefront of nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology is an emerging science that is expected to have rapid and strong future developments. We have already seen how nanotechnology is a very versatile technology and will probably become indispensable in the future in more and more sectors, both industrial and consumer.
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