Style Smartly

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Style Smartly

Sunday, 06 September 2020 | Shalini Saksena

Style Smartly

With unlock 4.0 from tomorrow, there is need to be more careful and protect oneself from COVID-19. SHALINI SAKSENA tells you that smart clothes are a solution

We live in an era of smart technology. Smartphones, smart watches, smart speakers, Smart TVs, smart doorbell, smart switches, smart CCTV cameras, the list of how technology is changing our lives is endless. So much so that the present pandemic has made researchers come up with smart fabric.

A tech start-up, Muse Nanobots, has launched nanotech coating for textiles that can inactivate the Coronavirus within five minutes of contact. These nanocoated textiles can offer enhanced protection for common people to travel and provide greater safety to frontline healthcare, hospital, hotels and restaurant workers.

A study was conducted with the US-based Situ Biosciences which specialises in providing microbial product testing. The aim was to understand the effectiveness of nanobots antiviral coating on Coronavirus 229E. It showed that it inactivated 99.99 per cent of this virus within five minutes of contact time. The study was conducted in accordance with ISO 18184, the international standards for determining antiviral activity of textile products.

Gautam Reddy, CEO, Muse Nanobots tells you that the nanocoating causes the RNA of the virus to come out. “The moment the RNA comes out, the virus becomes deactivated and can’t repopulate and no longer infectious. The coating has been tested on Coronavirus 229E. However, the coating has not been tested on SARS2-COVID-19. However, Coronavirus 229E is from the similar family of Human Coronavirus. It as the same closed envelop membrane. We anticipate that the coating will have a similar effect on SARS-2-COVID-19 too,” Reddy says.

The reason why they have not been able to test the nanocoating on SARS-2-COVID-19 is because they have not been able to get the sample of the virus since the research institutes are using it for development of the vaccine. But he tells you that they are in touch with biotech firms and we want to get the testing on SARS-2-COVID-19 as well. “The testing on Coronavirus 229E has made a strong point in our favour that there is an antiviral coating and we want to test it on SARS-2-COVID-19. We are expecting the results by the end to this month,” Reddy says.

The nanocoating requires a physical coating. Either the textile firm can send the fabric to Muse Nanobots for spray coating since the aim is to ensure that the fabric retains the coating for at least 50 washes or the coating machine can be installed on the industrial lines directly that can spray the fabric so that every metre of fabric that comes out in the line is antiviral in nature.

Sai Prasanth, co-founder of Muse Nanobots tells you that they are one of the first Indian technology companies to prove, via clinical testing and validation, the coating efficacy of their product on the Coronavirus. “The coating has also displayed a strong anti-bacterial activity on human pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, among others. The coating makes the textile surface self-sanitising and provides a germ resistant surface.  This shows that the coating on textiles can become an added layer of protection in the fight against this pandemic.”

However, Prasanth is quick to add that while the nanocoating offers substantially enhanced protection against Coronavirus, there are other ways in which COVID-19 can spread like while shaking hands with others or through droplets/coughs and hence, users should adhere to social distancing and follow the guidelines to protect themselves against COVID-19.

“What makes us different from other antiviral fabrics that are in the market is that their fabrics are in association with international brands. They are generally using silver and other chemicals whose toxicity is yet to be proven. We are using chemicals that are non-toxic in nature. Also, we are a Make in India start-up. This means that our costing is way lower; it will be 50 per cent cheaper than what the international offerings. We want to take it to as many industries as soon as possible since it is the need of the hour,” Reddy says.

He tells you that the future is all about antiviral fabrics. “The world in the last couple of decades has seen three pandemics – SARS, MERS and now SARS-2-COVOD-19. Then there are hospital acquired infections which is a major concern since it causes death as well. Hence, the antiviral fabrics is the way forward even when the present pandemic is over. In order to make it available for the common man for daily use, we are working on developing a method where it can be bottled or applied on the fabric through laundry but will have a lower wash number. But this research is at a nascent stage of development,” Reddy tells you.

For now, one will have to buy the fabric from retail and get it stitched. Or the ready-to-wear clothing brands can coat the fabric with nanocoating and make garments and sell it off the shelves. The good part is that every clothing that comes with the nanocoating will carry a tag stating the same. For now, the testing has been done on cotton, polyester and non-woven fabric. “As and when other fabrics come our way, we will do the testing on new fabrics. Also, the coating has been testing to withstand temperatures up to 70 degree C. The coating has been tested to have a shelf life of three to six months as well,” Reddy says.

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