Indian Scientists Develop Self-Disinfecting, Biodegradable Masks

To battle the highly transmissible Omicron variant, a self-disinfecting copper-based nanoparticle-coated antiviral face mask was developed by Indian scientists from Bengaluru. The mask, which is biodegradable, highly breathable and washable, is said to exhibit high performance against the Covid-19 virus as well as several other viral and bacterial infections.

The special mask was developed by scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), in collaboration with the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and an industry partner.

ARCI developed copper-based nanoparticles of around 20 nanometres by a Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) process.  The coated fabric exhibited an efficacy of more than 99.9% against bacteria. CSIR-CCMB tested the efficacy of this fabric against SARS-CoV-2 for disinfection properties and reported 99.9% disinfection.