Ledger · 2026-09-04 · Materials Science / Chemical Engineering
Supramolecular Tannic Acid-Zinc (TA-Zn) Antimicrobial Surface Shield via Ambient Aqueous Dual-Chamber Assembly
Rejected
This concept did not clear the framework. The reasoning is published in full below.
What the assessment found
| Incumbent benchmark | Zoono Microbe Shield |
| Entry application | Hospital-Grade & Transit 30-Day Surface Antimicrobial Coatings |
| Measured advantage | < 5s surface adhesion time vs ~600s for Zoono; 4-16x MIC improvement over uncomplexed Zn baseline (not Zoono) |
| Time to first revenue | 12 months |
| Gross margin at parity | 98.5% |
| Startup CapEx | $60,000 |
| Payback from first sale | 0.0 months |
| Capital productivity | 676.32x |
| Regulatory risk | Moderate — qualification costs reported ($120,000 estimated) |
| Market absence | Verified — the search is reported in the dossier: channels searched, companies searched, closest substitutes named |
Why it failed
- Voided by: Mismatched comparison, Negative control / sub-2x
- Evidence rests on non-peer-reviewed sources
Assessment
The concept fails superiority and like-for-like comparison because antimicrobial efficacy (MIC) is benchmarked against an uncomplexed raw zinc baseline rather than the named market leader (Zoono). Furthermore, no head-to-head quantitative data is provided comparing 30-day residual microbial reduction against Zoono on surfaces.
Also flagged
- Price parity asserted, not sourced
A rejection is not a claim that the science is wrong. It means the venture case did not survive: the comparator was not what the buyer actually buys, the comparison was not like-for-like, the advantage fell short of a step change, or the capital and time to first revenue were prohibitive.
Assessed 2026-09-04 against seven gates plus the voiding sub-tests. How the method works · Browse all concepts