BackNow, local masks that claim to kill the covid-19 virus
Scientists and entrepreneurs in Bengaluru have made a six-layer mask coated with a chemical to destroy coronavirusGovts are interested in I Shield masks as the tech, materials are developed in India with certificates from labs here and abroad
PremiumMost of us don’t have a high-end microscope at home. If we did, we’d be able to see what our mask contains when we return home. It would be teeming with pathogens like fungi, bacteria and viruses, says Anand Anandkumar, a biotech scientist and entrepreneur in Bengaluru.
If you happen to encounter the covid-19 virus, it could survive for hours, even days, on your mask and possibly spread inside your home. “The very thing that is supposed to protect me can become a harmful carrier," says Anandkumar, co-founder of Bugworks, a startup developing new antibiotics. He’s also a mentor to a diverse set of scientists and entrepreneurs who have come together under the aegis of Bengaluru-based startup I Shield to create antiviral products, starting with a covid-killer mask.
Co-founder and director of I Shield Ashok Vohra is former chairman of Singapore-based life sciences company Esco. Co-founder and director Jogin Desai, former CEO of multinational clinical research company Cenduit, is also the founder of cell therapy startup Eyestem. Another co-founder Nitish Sathyanarayanan runs a startup, Aiyon Life in Bengaluru, which is developing therapies from venom peptides. Two scientific advisors are Ram Subramanian, former director and co-founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) in Bengaluru, and Robert Deschenes, who chairs the department of molecular medicine at the University of South Florida.
Lab certificates
The I Shield mask has six layers. The outermost and innermost layers have a patent-pending tekFABRIK infused with an IS 212 molecule. Lab tests have shown this mask kills the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the covid-19 pandemic.
“The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram, a nodal organization to study the novel coronavirus, put us through exacting tests. We got a 99.99% kill rate on SARS-CoV-2 repeatedly," says Anandkumar. Tests at C-CAMP and University of South Florida showed the mask kills other flu viruses and disease-causing bacteria, apart from the covid-19 virus.
The way the mask’s IS 212 molecule works is similar to how soap and alcohol destroy the covid-19 virus. Within minutes it ruptures the lipid envelope of the virus, which makes it unstable. “Once you rupture the virus envelope, the RNA or genetic material gets exposed, making the virus inactive," explains Sathyanarayanan.
This is unlike a drug which targets the virus itself to stop it from attaching to a host or slow its replication. The virus needs a lipid envelope to survive. Rupturing that is one strategy to prevent its spread.
The I Shield team went through hundreds of molecules to see which were best at rupturing the virus envelope. The next requirement was to bind it to a fabric in an affordable and scalable way, which made IS 212 the best candidate. “Another molecule had better activity, but it involved many more steps for synthesis which made it costly," says Sathyanarayanan.
The next step was clearance from the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), a government-accredited body for testing and certification of products as safe for people to use. Although SITRA has cleared the mask for public use, further certification will be required for it to be deemed medical grade for use in hospitals.
“We’ve started a parallel process to get it classified and certified as a medical device," says Vohra. For now, I Shield is going to market for everyday use of its mask.
The masks are manufactured by subcontractors in Bengaluru. One of I Shield’s founding directors is Hitesh Topiwala, owner of Paramount Cosmetics, who is looking at manufacturing and distribution.
I Shield is exploring various channels to scale up availability. “We are in talks with one of the largest mask manufacturers in India to see if they will buy our tekFABRIK and use their own brand on the mask—like the concept of Intel Inside," says Vohra.
The mask is currently priced at ₹199 a piece. Other options are on the anvil, such as a crowdfunding campaign. The team has been talking with the government and Niti Aayog to see if public sector production facilities can be roped in to make a version available for around ₹50, possibly with tweaks in the current six-layered design.
The masks are just a starting point. Other uses of the IS 212 molecule are in the pipeline. For example, it could be used on cab or airplane seats. “We have engineered linkers that can bind it to plastic, glass, metal and wood. They can stay bound to surfaces for three or four days, unlike ethanol-based disinfectants which evaporate in minutes," says Sathyanarayanan.
While the main mode of transmission of the covid-19 virus appears to be saliva or mucus droplets, touching infected surfaces is a significant contributor. So we can imagine a scenario where all kinds of surfaces, including our backpacks, would need to be coated with a killer fabric.
Swiss rivals
Swiss company Livinguard has come out with antiviral masks that researchers at Free University of Berlin tested on coronavirus. The company’s website says it was “tested to neutralize HCoV-229E, a generally accepted surrogate for SARS-CoV-2". The way it works appears similar to I Shield—the differences will be in price, availability, and certification for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. HeiQ is another Swiss company licensing its antiviral technology to textile manufacturers.
The Indian government’s interest in I Shield comes from its technology having been developed in India with certificates from accredited labs locally as well as abroad, says Anandkumar who has been involved with parleys with officials. A local supply chain opens avenues for mass production at affordable price points within the country.
When Anandkumar got together with Vohra a few years ago to create a biotech incubator, anti-pollution masks were one of their projects. That was the genesis of I Shield but it went on the backburner.
Then covid-19 arrived. “We had a bunch of nerdy scientists, so we turned up the heat on the science behind masks," says Anandkumar. “We used screening techniques, pulled out a commercial molecule and found a smart way to covalently bind it to a cotton substrate."
Cotton makes the mask comfortable to use in India. The binding keeps the covid-killer molecule attached to the fabric through multiple washes. “In lab tests, its efficacy reduced by 2% in 30 washes and 5% in 70 washes," says Sathyanarayanan. Disposal of used masks is a hazard because they carry the virus. That’s another problem these masks solve.
Mass availability and certification for use by healthcare personnel are the next milestones to cross for an Indian product with potential to have a significant impact on the spread of covid-19.
Sumit Chakraberty is a Consulting Editor with Mint. Write to him at chakraberty@gmail.com
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