IIT Delhi startup develops antimicrobial textiles coating to prevent infections

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi incubated startup Medicfibers has developed an antimicrobial solution in collaboration with All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi for textiles coating to prevent Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi survival on fabric. The anti-microbial coating called Viroclog can save lives when integrated with hospital clothing providing protection against microbial pathogens.

According to a statement from IIT Delhi, Viroclog lowers the surface energy of textiles destroying the membrane integrity of microbes, making the microbes inactive, which in turn prevents infection transmission. Tests conducted by AIIMS New Delhi and IISc Bangalore and other labs prove that Viroclog technology reduces infections through hospital clothes. “The existing market players primarily rely on Ag-coated nanoparticles, while ViroClog® is significantly different, possessing broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. Secondly, while currently available solutions offer coating protection up to ~50 washes, the patented ViroClog® solution in multiple laboratory testings could provide protection lasting more than 100 washes demonstrating a high durability. ViroClog® solution reduces infections,” Harsh Lal, founder of Medicfibers said.

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Textile materials are considered to be a major carrier of pathogens. WHO states that every 1 in 10 hospitalized patients experiences a hospital-acquired infection globally. “Clothing materials provide room for the growth of pathogenic bacteria as they are porous, which only increases further in the humid and warm environment of the Indian subcontinent. Further, HAIs lead to prolonged hospitalization, added financial burden, and often more mortality. Therefore, there is a strong rationale for developing technology in India to reduce the HAI burden through a range of antimicrobial hospital clothing for healthcare,” said Sachin Kumar, professor at the Centre of Biomedical Engineering, IIT Delhi and mentor to the startup.

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