Bengaluru: A polymer-based antimicrobial surface coating being developed by a group at CIIRC-Jyothy Institute of Technology in Bengaluru for the disinfection of viruses and bacteria has been selected for further support, scale-up and commercialisation by the National Innovation Foundation NIF ).The coating is being developed by MS Santosh and his group and was selected by NIF under its Challenge Covid-19 Competition. “Our coating works on the principle of increased release of biocides when triggered by touch and infectious droplets at the site of contamination and disinfects rapidly, in addition to contact-killing and prevention of microbial adhesion,” Santosh told TOI.Preliminary results have shown excellent microbial reduction and the team is now working on fine-tuning the solution. This coating is non-toxic for skin and the environment and can also be applied on various surfaces and can be used in sanitizers, paints and surgical masks Similarly, another project led by R Viswanatha and Santosh has been recommended for funding by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under their Nanomission programme.“Using a simple sol-gel technology, we are developing antimicrobial hydrophobic nanocoatings for disposable masks which will make the masks reusable, durable and non-toxic. The nanocoating will be easily scalable, safe and economical while being highly effective against Covid-19,” Santosh added.With an increase in the infections, the demand for face masks and other personal protective equipment have increased dramatically and their prices have gone up multiple folds.Although there are a variety of masks available, choosing the right one to protect oneself is difficult because not all masks will protect people from being infected, the team argues.“For example, a normal medical mask is not good enough to protect oneself from when it is used alone. Instead, the N95 respirator face mask can protect people from contacting coronavirus infections that normally spreads from person to person through droplets during sneezing, coughing and talking. While N95 masks are better, they are expensive and need prior training as a standard practice before using it,” Santosh said.He further argued that on the other hand, the inexpensive disposable masks have several limitations: They often get wet through saliva droplets, body fluids and sweat.The wet masks attract the microorganisms and act as a breeding ground for those organisms to multiply in number, due to which the person wearing it gets easily infected. This is one of the biggest challenges that countries, governments and manufacturers are facing all over the world.Stating that all these aspects have created a need for innovative solutions that can mitigate the existing concerns of the disposable medical masks, he said: “Nanocoatings are believed to address this problem by offering a hydrophobic coating on the surface of the masks, preventing it from wetting and will disinfect the pathogens that may come in contact with the nanocoated surface.”