Imagine a sticky film you can put on door handles, bed rails, and countertops in hospitals that kills germs on contact — without chemicals. The trick is a combination of tiny surface patterns (too small to see) and natural essential oils baked into a polypropylene sheet. The surface texture makes it hard for bacteria to stick, and the oils finish off whatever lands there. The team built a full production line that churns out 4,000 square meters of this film in a single 8-hour shift.
Healthcare-associated infections from contaminated hospital surfaces remain a persistent and costly problem. Current solutions rely heavily on chemical disinfectants that require constant reapplication, expose staff and patients to harsh chemicals, and still leave surfaces vulnerable between cleanings. Hospitals need a passive, durable surface protection that works continuously without manual intervention.
A complete pilot production line for antimicrobial adhesive films using roll-to-roll nanoimprinting with essential oil additives on polypropylene. The line demonstrated production at 500 m/h, outputting 4,000 m² of film in 8 hours (160 kg), with nanopatterning at 7.5 m/min and a 90% yield target.
If you are a hospital group dealing with healthcare-associated infections on high-touch surfaces — this project developed an antimicrobial adhesive film that inhibits microbial growth without disinfectants. The pilot line demonstrated production of 4,000 m² of film in 8 hours at rates up to 500 m/h, meaning large-scale rollout across your facilities is feasible.
If you are a manufacturer looking to add antimicrobial surface products to your catalog — this project built a complete pilot line using roll-to-roll nanoimprinting on polypropylene with essential oil additives. Production speed reaches 7.5 m/min for nanostructured film with a 90% yield target, giving you a proven process to license or adapt.
If you are a cleaning service provider under pressure to reduce chemical disinfectant use while maintaining hygiene standards — this film provides durable antimicrobial protection on high-touch surfaces. It uses biocompatible essential oils instead of harsh chemicals, reducing your clients' exposure to disinfectants while keeping surfaces protected.
The project specifically chose materials based on cost for large-scale application and analyzed productivity and raw material costs. Essential oils and polypropylene are commodity materials. Exact pricing per square meter is not published, but the high-volume production (4,000 m² per 8-hour shift) suggests unit costs can be competitive with regular surface treatments.
Yes — this was the core goal. The pilot line demonstrated continuous film production at up to 500 m/h with film thickness up to 100 μm. Nanopatterning speed reached 7.5 m/min with a 90% yield target. A single shift produced 4,000 m² (160 kg) of antimicrobial polypropylene film.
The project explicitly committed to ensuring access to the pilot line for antimicrobial films at a cost that promotes technology transfer to European industries. Fraunhofer (Germany) coordinated the project. Contact them through SciTransfer for licensing or pilot line access arrangements.
The project addressed regulatory issues, health-safety-environment (HSE) aspects, and lifecycle assessment as part of its non-technological work packages. The film uses biocompatible materials and essential oils. Specific regulatory certifications would need to be confirmed with the consortium.
The project studied robustness and repeatability of film behavior in real hospital environments, comparing effectiveness with standard protocols. Based on available project data, the film provides durable protection with good resistance, but specific duration claims should be verified with the consortium's test results.
The film is designed as an adhesive film suitable for high-touch surfaces in hospitals — door handles, bed rails, countertops, and similar contact points. It is a polypropylene-based adhesive film, so it can conform to flat and gently curved surfaces.
The FLEXPOL consortium of 12 partners across 5 countries (Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, UK) is well-balanced for commercialization. Fraunhofer, one of Europe's top applied research organizations, leads the project. With 4 industry partners and 3 SMEs (33% industry ratio), the consortium has real manufacturing and market access built in alongside 5 research organizations and 2 universities providing the science. This mix signals a project designed to move from lab to factory floor — not stay in academia.
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Germany) — Europe's largest applied research organization. SciTransfer can facilitate a direct introduction to the project team.
Want to explore licensing the FLEXPOL antimicrobial film technology or accessing the pilot line? SciTransfer connects you directly with the research team. Contact us for a confidential briefing.
