Two researchers at UCF are developing a cough drop that can reduce the spread of COVID-19 by making saliva heavier and stickier - it makes sneeze and cough particles fall rather than float. But is there really a market for such a product? Paul Jarley talks with researchers Michael Kinzel and Kareem Ahmed to find out the science behind the lozenge, how soon it could hit store shelves and the similarities to products you already have around the house.

 

Featured Guests

Kareem Ahmed - Assistant Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Michael Kinzel - Assistant Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Cameron Ford - Director, UCF Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Michael Pape - Dr. Phillips Entrepreneur in Residence; Lecturer, Management

Episode Highlights

0:49 - The origin of the COVID-19 cough drop idea

2:58 - How mechanical engineers got into cough drops

5:18 - How can the COVID cough drop make it to stores?

7:58 - Legal hurdles for the COVID cough drop

11:53 - Who is the target audience for this?

16:27 - How long will it take to get to market?

25:42 - ...Ketchup?

28:48 - What are the learning lessons for students?

33:07 - Final thoughts from Paul Jarley, Cameron Ford and Michael Pape

Click to listen to the extended "geek" edition of this episode or visit business.ucf.edu/podcast!

 

Episode Transcription

Paul Jarley:                         2020 has been the year of the coronavirus, and big money is being put in to find a vaccine. But what if I told you that the spread of COVID isn't a medical problem, but rather an engineering one. And that two UCF Aerospace Engineers might have a simple, low-cost solution. Would you invest in their project?

Paul Jarley:                         This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions. To get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, is this really a thing? Onto our show.

Paul Jarley:                         Ideas come from unexpected places. Listen to Michael Kinzel, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCF. Explain the origin of the idea for a COVID cough drop.

Michael Kinzel:                 It was kind of funny, right? My wife was arguing with one of our neighbors on Facebook, about aerosols and how far they can kind of pass from one person to another. And one of the things about aerosols is they're very small, and if you cough, for example, at that time, they were showing that... Actually not cough, sneeze, if you sneeze, they were showing that these aerosols can travel at 27 feet. My wife was arguing with neighbors like, "Hey, you need to be careful as you go by somebody, maybe move out of the sidewalk." Because of these aerosols. And it drove me to think, how do you make these... What do we do in engineering to make things not form aerosols?

Michael Kinzel:                 And one of the things that drives that is underlying fluid dynamics processes that associated with how thick your fluid is. So for example, if you think about trying to make small droplets out of oil, it's a lot more difficult than making small droplets out of water, or even on the other end alcohol. So this is kind of driving, it was kind of, how do you get to a scenario where you don't enable droplets to travel 27 feet? And if you make them large, they're no longer aerosols and they have a tendency to fall. So one way to potentially enable that is by making a lozenge that actually alters your saliva. So that it behaves or has a tendency to form these large droplets that don't persist for very long distances.

Paul Jarley:                         Okay. So first, Michael,