IIT Guwahati aid to increase safety of PPE while fighting COVID-19

A team of researchers has prepared an affordable anti-microbial spray-based coating for Personal Protective Equipments (PPE), which they promise has the potential to reduce the risk of secondary infection of the frontline health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The research team led by Biman B. Mandal, a professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bio-engineering, IIT Guwahati says the metal nanoparticles such as copper, silver and other active ingredients used in the coating will act as an anti-microbial agent and thereby kill or prevent the spread of microbes once they come in contact with the coated PPE surface.

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"The PPEs that are being presently used are designed to protect the wearer from infectious microbes/aqueous virus droplets acting as a barrier. However, these PPE, generally, do not have the ability to prevent the spread of microbes as the surface of the fabric readily allows adherence and accumulation of microbes with time. This leads to further spread of the microbes due to negligent handling of PPE and wrong disposal protocols. The anti-microbial coating can be sprayed or dip-coated onto any kind of surface including textiles and other medical device surfaces to get rid of microbial load. This will allow reusability of PPEs and easy containment of the microbes," a statement issued IIT Guwahati said while quoting Mandal.

The team has also developed a 3D printed ear guard prototype, which promises to reduce the pain of usage of strapped and tight-fitting face masks for hours.

Mandal's two PhD scholars, Bibhas K. Bhunia and Ashutosh Bandyopadhyay were also part of the research team.

This comes at a time when some states are struggling to have a sufficient number of PPE kits.

The team said the killing of microbes will allow reusability of masks and other PPEs. Hence, less burden will be on the manufactures for making millions of masks which are generally thrown away after a single use. "This can restrict spreading of microbes to fingers and other individuals due to negligent usage of masks where users tend to touch them while removing. It can also reduce bioburden and transmission after disposal," it said.

The team has filed for a provisional patent for the technology. "The research team has developed the prototype of the technology. Further validation of product safety is going on and antimicrobial action specifically against Coronavirus will be done at a government facility," said the statement.

3D printed ear guard:

The research team has also developed a 3D printed ear guard prototype, which according to them would reduce the pain of usage of strapped and tight-fitting face masks for hours by the healthcare workers and general people.

The ergonomic design of the guard holds the face mask strap in a place without giving pressure to the ear. Therefore, masks can be worn effortlessly for hours without pain or discomfort to the wearer. Using 3D printers, these ‘Ear Guards’ are being made in a free size to fit all.

These are being printed at the Biomaterial & Tissue Engineering Laboratory of IIT Guwahati using polymer resins. The ear guards are affordable, long-lasting and designed to give comfortable wearing experience. Presently, the team is printing thousands of these ear guards to be distributed to hospitals across the Northeast and if needed, to rest of the country, said the statement.