COVID-19: IIT-BHU develops anti-microbial multilayer face mask to limit infections 

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has developed an anti-microbial multilayer face mask. The face mask has been developed to annihilate pathogenic micro-organisms stuck to the outer surface of the mask and limit further spread of secondary infections. The mask currently being sold in the market act as a filter to stop the entry of microbes to oral and nasal airways but are not effective on the microbe stuck to the mask surface.

The mask has been developed by doctor Marshal and his team at the School of Biomedical Engineering in the IIT-BHU. According to Marshal, this shortcoming of masks could be very dangerous for medical and paramedical staff due to the presence of higher viral or bacterial load on their outer surface. His team addressed this problem by stacking different layers of nano-metal conjugated with a protonated amine matrix.

IIT-BHU director Prof. Pramod Kumar Jain said that the institute is fully prepared to fight against the virus while fulfilling its social obligations and is ready to cooperate with the government and administration for all such needs. Earlier, the institute had developed a prototype of UV-C light-based surface-cum-room sanitizer, full body sanitization device and several other innovations to fight against coronavirus.