Stony Brook University Produces Hand Sanitizer For Hospital Staff

STONY BROOK, NY — Hand sanitizer is being made by students and faculty of the Stony Brook University Chemistry Department, the school announced Thursday. The sanitizer will be shared with Stony Brook University Hospital and the Long Island State Veteran’s Home to aid health care providers working on the front lines of the new coronavirus patient care.

Manufactured in the department’s six general chemistry labs, with water and raw health grade materials, and following World Health Organization protocols, the hand sanitizer is packaged in 4-liter plastic containers, easy to distribute and use. In only one day of production, the team made 17 gallons of hand sanitizer.

Peter Tonge, a SUNY distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, is leading the initiative with the support of Dr. Xinxin Yang and Dr. Shabnam Davoodi. Dr. Yang is a research scientist in Nicole Sampson’s lab; Sampson is also a SUNY distinguished professor of Chemistry and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Davoodi is a postdoctoral student in the Tonge lab.

"We are in a traumatic community emergency and people have come together and said, ‘We’re going to get this done.’ It’s quite amazing," Interim President Michael Bernstein said during a recent recording of the University’s "Beyond the Expected" podcast.