CEO Ian Knapp

Gainesville’s ReliOx, a University of Florida spinoff, has patented what CEO Ian Knapp calls a simple and safe method for producing chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant 25 times stronger than bleach but rarely used because of the hazardous chemicals normally required to make it. The idea is to expand use of chlorine dioxide beyond its current major industrial uses to disinfect and fight infectious diseases in the food industry, hospitals, public transportation and janitorial services. The company was first runner-up in this year’s Cade Prize for Innovation.