IIT Delhi startup develops antimicrobial solution to protect against hospital infections
India Today
An IIT Delhi startup Medicfibers has developed an antimicrobial solution with AIIMS New Delhi that can coat textiles to protect against hospital-acquired infections.
Textile materials are major carriers of microbial pathogens resulting in serious hospital-acquired infections (HAI) globally. According to the WHO, every 1 in 10 hospitalised patients across the world experiences a hospital-acquired infection (HAI).
Medicfibers, a FITT, IIT Delhi incubated startup, in collaboration with AIIMS New Delhi, has developed an antimicrobial solution Viroclog that when applied as a coating on textiles, provides long-lasting protection against HAI by reducing virus, bacteria, fungi survival on fabric.
Coating the Viroclog antimicrobial solution on textiles lowers the surface energy preventing adhesion of microbes and destroys the membrane integrity of microbes.
Destruction of the lipid-based membrane barrier makes the microbes inactive, thus preventing infection transmission.
The basic significance of this technology is to save lives and reduce healthcare associated costs by integrating antimicrobial technology with hospital clothing that provides a layer of protection against microbial pathogens.
The tests done by AIIMS New Delhi, IISc Bangalore, and multiple NABL accredited labs, show that Viroclog technology contributes significantly towards reducing infections through antimicrobial hospital clothing.
“The existing market players primarily rely on Ag-coated nanoparticles, while ViroClog is significantly different, possessing broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties,” said Harsh Lal, Founder, Medicfibers.
