Orbio™ Technologies, A Tennant Company Group, and its license Partner Activeion Cleaning Solutions LLC, discover method to kill bacteria cells and inactive pathogenic viruses without the use of chemicals

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 19, 2010—Orbio Technologies, Tennant Company’s chemical-free
technology arm, announced today that working together with their license partner Activeion, they have
discovered the ability to kill bacterial cells and inactivate pathogenic viruses without using chemicals. The
technology, which is based on irreversible electroporation, is known as Orbio-E.

According to Karla Leis, General Manager of Orbio Technologies Group, “We continue to build on
our technology partnership with Activeion, the exclusive licensee of Orbio’s ec-H2O™ technology for
handheld spray applications, and have expanded the license agreement to enable the Orbio-E technology
to be added to Activeion’s handheld spray devices marketed under the names ionator EXP™ and
ionator HOM™.”

When used as directed, the ionator EXP and ionator HOM kill the 2009 Pandemic H1N1
Influenza A virus and more than 99.9% of most harmful bacteria (E. coli, VRE, Salmonella, MRSA,
Pseudomonas, Staph, Listeria and E. coli 0157:H7) on nonporous hard surfaces with a 6-second spray.
Electroporation has long been an effective and important tool in molecular and cellular biology for
medical and pharmaceutical research. Electroporation uses a low-level, externally applied electrical field
to temporarily disrupt cell membranes, allowing small molecules to pass directly into the cells. If the
applied electric field is below a certain threshold, the disrupted areas–or pores formed in the cellular wall–
simply heal after the electric field is turned off, allowing the modified cells to survive.

Orbio-E technology causes irreversible electroporation, going beyond the effects of typical,
temporary cell poration. Orbio-E is a novel, non-chemical mechanism. On hard surfaces, Orbio-E disrupts
and kills bacterial cells which may cause harmful infections. Quantitative laboratory tests also show that
Orbio-E inactivates important pathogenic viruses like influenza.

Orbio-E uses only water and very small amounts of electrical energy to deliver impressive
antimicrobial performance. Additional important benefits of this breakthrough technology include improved
sustainability, reduced environmental footprint, and reduced hazards from the potential misuse of
chemical (cleaning) products.

Orbio Technologies Group is conducting detailed studies to optimize this promising technology.
One recent study investigated Orbio-E effects using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The images
below show representative Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria without applying
(control) and after applying Orbio-E technology in a 2-second spray. Bacteria cell walls are clearly
compromised when treated with Orbio-E.

 

Despite its harm to bacteria, Activeion has tested the impact of the technology in an independent
lab to determine that it has no measurable detriment on skin, eyes, when ingested or inhaled. Therefore,
the Activeion products do not carry any chemical-related warning label.

Orbio Technologies Group is currently forming a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), comprised of
external technical experts. According to Pete Swenson, Director of Advanced Technology at Orbio, the
SAB will formalize Tennant’s tradition of working with world-class researchers from many technical
disciplines. The SAB will advise Orbio on broad scientific matters and review the quality of scientific and
technical research.

The discovery of Orbio-E comes on the heels of Tennant Company’s successful introduction of its
breakthrough chemical-free cleaning technology known as Orbio ec-H2O™. The Orbio ec-H2O
technology was named by R&D Magazine as one of the most technologically significant developments in
2008, and helps to meet the ever-growing need for sustainable cleaning. Orbio ec-H2O delivers proven
cleaning results without the economic costs and environmental concerns associated with producing,
packaging, transporting, using and disposing of traditional cleaning chemicals. The technology begins as
water and ends as water, so it can be handled and disposed of easily and safely.
The Orbio ec-H2O and Orbio-E technology platform entails over 30 US and many more global
patent applications.

About Orbio Technologies Group

Orbio Technologies Group is the chemical-free cleaning technology arm of Tennant Company.
Established in 2009 to execute on Tennant Company’s vision of becoming a global leader in chemicalfree
cleaning, Orbio Technologies Group is dedicated to developing and marketing environmentally
friendly technologies under the brand name of Orbio that will set the standard for sustainable cleaning
around the world. Leveraging Tennant’s proprietary and award-winning Orbio ec-H2O technology, Orbio
Technologies Group will continue to create and deliver sustainable cleaning solutions to Tennant’s
existing markets and new markets. For more information, visit www.orbiotech.com.

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