The start-up Flux Polymers, which has its roots at the University of Würzburg, offers a simple and easy solution to keep plastic surfaces free of bacteria. Recently, it has found an investor and can now start its operational business.
In clinics and medical practices, it is crucial to work with sterile equipment and generally ensure a high standard of hygiene. For the healthcare sector, and numerous other industries, the company Flux Polymers GmbH offers an innovative and simple solution for better hygiene.
"Our simple process makes plastic surfaces antibacterial in just a few minutes," says CEO Dr. Anita Luxenhofer. "We produce a polymer that is applied on the substrate by spray- or dip-coating and then permanently fixed by short UV irradiation."
Based on a purely physical effect
The patented coating prevents bacteria from adhering to the plastic surface. The antibacterial properties are based on a purely physical effect. No toxic substances that might induce resistance in bacteria are released from the coating.
"The process is fast, cost-efficient and changes neither the look nor the feel of the coated material," assures Anita Luxenhofer. She and her team are very pleased to have received funding from investors advised by the family office Förster & Franke GmbH & Co. KG. "This investment will accelerate our go-to-market strategy and help us gain a foothold in the European market," explains the team's commercial director, Joachim Schramm.
Rooted in the historic Department of Chemistry at the Röntgenring
Flux Polymers was launched in 2014 by Professor Robert Luxenhofer at the Chair of Chemical Technology of Material Synthesis at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany. In its first years, the project was funded by the start-up grants EXIST (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) and Flügge (Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy).
With strong support from the Würzburg Innovation and Start-up Centre (IGZ) and the JMU Unit for Research and Technology Transfer (SFT), a promising concept and team eventually crystallized. The company is now based in the Taunusstraße 59-61, 55118 Mainz.
