Antibacterial Paper Made of Cellulose and Copper

Although Chilean economy is ensured by its natural resources, the country demands expanding the scope to address the poor development of value-added products. This project complemented two key industries in the country, to develop a new material by combining the properties of its raw materials: cellulose and copper. The objective was to evaluate the feasibility of producing antibacterial paper with a level of biocidal effectiveness of 90%. An experimental investigation was conducted by an interdisciplinary research team working collaboratively with the company CMPC Celulosa S.A. It concluded in a scalable proof-ofconcept with proven antibacterial effectiveness. State of the technique studies confirmed the invention is patentable and has high innovative potential. The project applied for two patent applications: nationally, accepted by INAPI Chile, and abroad, international PCT. Currently, the project is in the stage of industrial pilot validation, with the aim of achieving transfer and bringing the technology to the market.