Last year in May, a team of researchers comprising a PhD and three post-doctoral research fellows and led by professor Rinti Banerjee from IIT-Bombay developed a coating technology called Duraprot (durable+protection) that can render the coronavirus inactive. The technology is being used to make masks and PPEs.
Duraprot is a natural and biodegradable material (bio-nano polymers) that breaks down the virus and then inactivates it. The mask is coated by dipping the fabric directly into an emulsion or solution. To test the efficacy of the coating, surrogate samples of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were tested in the laboratory.
“When we tested the Duraprot coating against coronavirus samples from Kasturba Hospital, there was a breakdown of the envelope inactivating the coronavirus,” Banerjee told Hindustan Times.