Zwitter Technology, LLC (ZT) is involved in commercializing a proprietary biofouling control technology developed in Dr. Shaoyi Jiang's lab at the University of Washington, Seattle (UW). ZT has an exclusive license from the UW to pursue many applications of the large patent portfolio assembled around this technology. Biofouling - nonspecific attachment of unwanted biomolecules and microorganisms onto a surface - is a fundamental and challenging issue from medical to engineering applications. Biofouling on medical devices compromises their performance and leads to infection; serum components in blood significantly reduce diagnostic sensing sensitivity; protein therapeutics or drug carriers without nonfouling coatings are rapidly eliminated from the body; membranes used in blood dialysis and separation, waste water treatment, and desalination can be fouled quickly resulting in blocked pores; marine vessels lacking nonfouling coatings are susceptible to adsorption by barnacles, algae, and other sea life, greatly increasing drag and reducing fuel efficiency.
