All aboard the magic buses

Around 140 buses of the New Lantao Bus company will be disinfected with an antibacterial and antiviral spray developed by the University of Science and Technology.

The spray, named Germagic Thyme, contains two high-level disinfectants - polyethylenimine and thyme essential oil - which form a disinfecting coating on objects to deactivate viruses and bacteria.

The development of the spray was led by professor Yeung King-lun of HKUST's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Laboratory of Environmental Health Technologies of Chiaphua Industries.

Their research showed the spray's disinfecting coating can effectively kill up to 99.9 percent of viruses, such as measles, German measles mumps and FCV - a virus found in cats and seen as an important indicator for checking products' effectiveness in killing the coronavirus.