Anti-viral surface coatings could prevent the spread of Covid-19

Researchers are looking at the potential of an anti-viral surface coating to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 by touch.

Despite the strict hygiene measures which have been enforced, it is practically impossible to sanitise surfaces all of the time, and it also doesn’t guarantee that the surface won’t get contaminated again. Therefore, an optimal solution would be for the surface to repel the pathogens - making it nonstick and/or to ‘sanitise by itself’ by neutralising the contaminated pathogens quickly, and eliminating the possibilities of transfer of the microorganism to the human body and its subsequent spreads.

Research by Swapan Kumar Ghosh, director of Nova Surface-Care Centre, aimed to create a surface coating with would repel the virus, and resist the transmission of the virus from non-living articles to living body cells by touch.

The product Nanova hygiene+ was developed as an antimicrobial coating for many surfaces including plastics. During tests, this coating has proven to protect up to 99.9% against bacteria pathogens. Therefore, the researchers believe that Nanova hygiene would be a potential coating candidate to repel and inactivate the virus on the surface, and could be a potential material to address the present problem of Covid-19 being spread through surface touch.

Currently, tests and validation are being conducted in war footing at South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), Coimbatore, to establish its efficacy on inactivation of Covid-19 on different surfaces, to stop the secondary spread from various surfaces to living cells through touch.

If tests are successful, researchers believe that the product has numerous potential applications, and could save many lives.