An Indian startup has come to the rescue of frontline healthcare workers, hotels and restaurant staff to provide extra protection. Technology startup, Muse Nanobots has launched a nanotech coating for textiles that inactivates the coronavirus within five minutes of contact.
US Lab has validated the coating developed by Muse Nanobots, a subsidiary of the IIT Madras-incubated Muse Wearables Startup, in accordance with International Standards.
The Muse Nanobots coating has displayed a strong anti-bacterial activity on human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, among others.
It makes the textile surface self-sanitising and provides a germ resistant surface. The nanocoat provides an added layer of protection on textiles as it can be applied on any kind of fabric. It can be coated on masks, PPE kits, clothes and packaging material. Test has shown that it is non-toxic to human cells and is comfortable to use.
The startup is targeting the installation of their nanocoating machines in around 15 Indian textile companies that make regular office and casual attires, sportswear, PPEs, decor industry of curtains, bedsheets and packaging material makers by end of 2020.
The nanocoating machine can coat fabrics at an industrial production scale and can be integrated into the existing textile production facilities. No changes were observed on the textile fabrics after the coating process, thus offering various textile applications. The coating lasts up to 60 washes when washed below 70 degrees Celsius.
Muse Nanobots has a coating facility based in Bengaluru, where textile companies can send their fabrics to be treated with the antiviral coating. More coating facilities are in planning, at different cities to cater to the textile coating demand. Muse Nanobots face masks will be available in the market by the first week of September 2020 on e-commerce platforms and Muse Nanobots website.
References:
https://telanganatoday.com/coating-for-garments-to-inactivate-virus
