In its latest round of equity financing, Vanson HaloSource, a Redmond, Wash.-based developer of
antimicrobial biomedical products using chitin/chitosan- and N-halamine-based technologies, has
raised $5 million to be used to expand marketshare of its existing products and bring new products
to market.Existing products using chitin and its derivative, chitosan, include a medical device for
a Fortune 500 company. Vanson HaloSource also is developing other biomedical products that use the
polymer, which is refined from crustacean shells and exhibits unique chemical binding properties,
to speed healing of wounds and treat burns.Under an agreement with G. HirschandCo., Burlingame,
Calif.,the company is using N-halamine technology to develop medical bedding in which chlorine
atoms are bonded to the fabric to destroy odor-causing and infectious bacteria. N-halamines improve
and prolong the antimicrobial performance of chlorine and dramatically reduce its toxic,
carcinogenic and corrosive effects by binding the chlorine tightly to the surface of the fabric and
minimizing the leach rate, according to Vanson HaloSource. The N-halamines act as a recharger
during laundering with chlorine bleach, giving the bedding continued antimicrobial properties.
September 2002
