NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The department of science & technology (DST) and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) have awarded initial funds to the tune of Rs 1.25 crore to four institutes, including three Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), to develop a range of products that can help India fight Covid-19 pandemic better.

While IIT-Delhi will develop new formulations for decontamination of surfaces, Jawahar Lal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru will produce antiviral surface coatings and IIT-Bombay will identify biomarkers for treatment among other innovations.

The projects were selected after peer-review and assessment by a Special Expert Committee for CoVID-19 projects. The DST-SERB had called for research projects to urgently ramp up national R&D efforts against the pandemic and these projects are the first five to make the cut.

IIT-Bombay will work on two projects — identifying global metabolite biomarkers in Covid-19 infected patients for targeted therapy and developing antibodies against the receptor-binding domain of the spike glycoprotein of the virus involved in recognising a host cell-surface receptor. The first initiative is led by Sanjeeva Srivastava from the department of biosciences and bioengineering (DBB) and the other by Kiran Kondabagil, also from the department. Kondabagil’s team is also looking at developing unsaturated free fatty acid-based emulsion loaded in-situ gels to inactivate the virus at the point of entry.

In another project, IIT-Delhi will develop chemical formulations for decontamination of inanimate surfaces. “This will help develop material which may be applied to mops to disinfect the surfaces to remove any adhering viruses or bacteria,” according to professor B S Butola , department of textile and fibre engineering, IIT-Delhi.

JNCASR researchers are also working on antiviral surface coatings to prevent the spread of infections caused by influenza virus. The technology has been developed by professor Jayanta Haldar’s group. “The cotton substrates coated with the compound showed complete disabling of bacteria exhibiting almost 99.999% accuracy. The coating also works against pathogens such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in 30-45 minutes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an antimicrobial coating, which could disable all of bacteria, fungi and influenza virus,” Haldar said.

IIT-Kanpur will develop a cost-effective virucidal coating for surgical masks that will prevent bacteria and visions (entire virus particles) from attaching to it. “This coating will ensure that virus does not adhere to masks,” said Nagma Parveen from the department of chemistry at IIT-Kanpur.

But scientists admit it will be a race against time. “We have a target of three months but with all student researchers gone since college is closed, it may take a little bit more time,” Parveen told TOI.

Butola from IIT-Delhi added, “Samples need to be tested. I’m working from home but this work will need a lab. Even to start R&D, we need the situation to get normal.”

Meanwhile, the DST has also invited applications for private companies and start-ups developing electrostatic spray and ultra-violet treatment for various surfaces like glass, ceramic, wood, textile. The treatment will be used in heavily populated areas like offices, educational institutions and hotels. Funding will come from Technology Development Board (TDB), another statutory body under DST. The TDB is also asking private companies to send proposals to develop low-cost masks which can capture virus from air and absorb respiratory droplets.

