NEW DELHI: Now, an anti-viral mask that attacks coronavirus. A Pune-based startup in collaboration with Technology Development Board (TDB) of the department of science and technology has developed a special kind of cost-effective 3D-printed mask that is coated with antiviral agents known as virucides. The anti-viral agent in these masks attacks the coronavirus when viral particles come in contact with it. The coating has been tested and shown to inactivate SARSCoV-2 virus.
The project to develop virucidal masks received financial support from TDB in May last year as part of its search for novel solutions to fight Covid. Thereafter, an agreement was signed on July 8, 2020 for developing virucidal masks. Pune-based Thincr Technologies India Private Ltd, which developed these virucidal masks, claims that the masks are more effective in checking the spread of Covid-19 than ordinary N-95, 3-ply and cloth masks as they give an additional anti-viral protection beyond the shield provided by filtration mechanisms.
Thincr Technologies has now applied for a patent for the product, whose commercial production has started. Around 6,000 of such masks have been distributed by an NGO to four government hospitals in Nandurbar and Nashik in Maharashtra and Bengaluru for use by healthcare workers.
The project to develop virucidal masks received financial support from TDB in May last year as part of its search for novel solutions to fight Covid. Thereafter, an agreement was signed on July 8, 2020 for developing virucidal masks. Pune-based Thincr Technologies India Private Ltd, which developed these virucidal masks, claims that the masks are more effective in checking the spread of Covid-19 than ordinary N-95, 3-ply and cloth masks as they give an additional anti-viral protection beyond the shield provided by filtration mechanisms.
Thincr Technologies has now applied for a patent for the product, whose commercial production has started. Around 6,000 of such masks have been distributed by an NGO to four government hospitals in Nandurbar and Nashik in Maharashtra and Bengaluru for use by healthcare workers.
