IIT Madras researchers develop nano-coated filter for healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients

IIT Madras researchers develop a nano-coated filter media for healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients.

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed a nano-coated filter media for healthcare workers who are treating coronavirus patients. This can be used for defence application and other places too where air filtration of submicron particles is required.

This nano-coated filter media has been fabricated by a nylon-based polymer coating on cellulose paper and was developed through the electrospinning process. The coating properties are optimized for efficient removal of sub-micron sized dust particles in the air.

This filter is in the process to be field-tested in practical applications. After validation through various field trials, this will be recommended for bulk manufacturing through industry collaborations. This project is been funded by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) for defence applications and also due to its high potential for the need of the hour, it is repositioned in health care applications.

Professor K. Arul Prakash, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, said, “The nano-coating fabricated through the electrospinning process have fiber diameter less than 1 micron and can be positioned according to the need to enhance surface/depth filtration for healthcare workers or public responders."

"This novel filter with multiple nano-coating have capabilities to filter particles of the order of one micron size, which is a remarkable achievement,” Professor said.
This project was a collaborative effort with faculty from various departments of IIT Madras including Professor Raghuram Chetty from Department of Chemical Engineering and Professor Saravana Kumar from Department of Engineering Design.

While talking about the applications in Defence, Professor Prakash said, “Nano-coated filter media have much better reverse cleanability behaviour resulting in an extended service life period of air filters providing prolonged working hours for armoured vehicles. This will save a huge cost for defence applications where the filters are currently imported from developed countries.”

With rising coronavirus cases day by day across the globe, Scientists are trying their best to find out solutions to beat this lethal disease. In India, various Indian Institute of Technology institutes (IITs) has been contributing in the form of various innovations to deal with the current crisis.

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