Selektope® is an organic molecule developed and commercialised by I-Tech for use in paint systems. Selektope®’s powerful, repellent effect on barnacles keeps the ship’s hull clean — which reduces frictional resistance between the ship hull and water, reducing fuel consumption. After risk evaluation, Selektope® has been approved by the EU as environmentally acceptable.
As a pioneering and innovative solution, Selektope® offers marine paint companies numerous possibilities to formulate high-performance marine antifouling paint systems that deliver reliable and continuous protection against barnacles and marine fouling.
I-Tech’s customers, the global paint manufacturers, can combine Selektope® with several other substances and polymers in their paint formulations to create optimal protection. Along with only seven other substances, Selektope® is approved according to very comprehensive EU biocidal legislation, the EU-BPR.
Selektope® is unique in its application as a biotechnology in marine paints because it repels barnacle larvae through natural receptor stimulation, activating their swimming mode with temporary effect. It is a technology characterised by its selective action and high efficacy at extremely low concentrations. This creates opportunities, that in some cases, can reduce biocide release from a paint by more than 90 percent whilst still improving hull performance.
The effect of Selektope® on a paint system is almost insignificant, which means that the paint and its application method are identical to conventional methods.
Selektope® gives I-Tech customers greater freedom to formulate different types of antifouling products. For example, it is possible to formulate Selektope® with or without copper oxide (Cu2O) and functional materials/coatings can also be formulated.
Chugoku Marine Paints’ copper-free antifouling coating product, SEAFLO NEO CF-PREMIUM, in which all copper oxide is replaced, demonstrates a particularly good ability to also reduce soft/primary fouling. This is a desirable secondary characteristic enabled by Selektope®.
THIS IS HOW IT WORKS
When a barnacle larvae comes into contact with Selektope®, they becomes hyperactive and performs about 100 kicks per minute. The effect is reversible, and the larvae quickly return to their normal state when not exposed to Selektope®. In this way, the larvae simply cannot attach to a surface painted with Selektope® and, at the same time, the larvae are not damaged in any way.
Selektope® is based on a molecular structure comprising phenyl and imidazole groups.