New 3D Face Mask Developed by a Pune Firm

Pune-based startup has developed a 3D face mask that is coated with anti-viral agents keeps Covid-19 virus at bay. The mask coating comprises of a Sodium Olefin Sulfonate-based mixture, which has been tested and shown to inactivate the Covid-19 virus.

Can a face mask stop the spread of Covid virus? Yes, says a Pune-based startup company. A 3D face mask developed is coated with anti-viral agents that attack the Covid-19 virus.

Developed by Thincr Technologies India Pvt Ltd, the virucidal mask project was among the earliest projects selected for commercialization by the Technology Development Board of the Department of Science & Technology, as part of the government's fight against the virus.

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‘The coating used in the 3D face mask is a Sodium Olefin Sulfonate-based mixture, which has been tested and shown to inactivate the Covid-19 virus.’

The founder-director of Thincr Technologies, Shitalkumar Zambad, claimed that these cost-effective masks coated with virucides are more effective than N-95, 3-Ply or cloth masks currently available in the market.

However, he said that the coated layer can be incorporated as an additional layer in the existing masks of all kinds which can help provide extra protection beyond that achieved by the filtration mechanisms.

Zambad said the mask coating - comprising a Sodium Olefin Sulfonate-based mixture - has been tested and shown to inactivate the Covid-19 virus.

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"It is a soap-forming agent with hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. When it comes in contact with the virus, it disrupts its outer membrane. The ingredients, used widely in cosmetics, remain stable at room temperature," Zambad explained.

These virucidal masks are found to have bacterial filtration efficiency higher than 95 per cent, and for the first time, the company has used 3D printers to make multilayer cloth filters for plastic-moulded or 3D-printed mask covers, he added.

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Encouraged by the results, Thincr Technologies has now applied for a patent for the product to launch commercial production, Zambad said.

Through an NGO, it has distributed 6,000 virucidal masks to four government hospitals in Nandurbar, Nashik, for use by healthcare workers, besides giving them to a girls' school and college in Bengaluru.

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Source-IANS