The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has developed an ‘infection-proof fabric’ for use at hospitals to prevent hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). At the time when the world is dealing with a deadly coronavirus outbreak, the IIT-Delhi incubated start-up, Fabiosys Innovations, developed this. However, this team has been working on this project for over a year now, with the support of the government’s Department of Science and Technology.

The official statistics of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare show that for every 100 hospitalized patients in developing countries, 10 acquire HAIs and the risk is even higher now at the time of this pandemic.

Samrat Mukhopadhyay, a professor at the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering in IIT-Delhi said, “We take rolls of cotton fabric and treat it with a set of proprietary-developed chemicals under a set of particular reaction conditions, using the machinery already commonly available in textile industries. The fabric, after undergoing these processes, gains the powerful antimicrobial functionality.”

The interesting part about this fabric is that even after multiple washes, the functionality of the fabric is not lost. It can also be stitched into various articles like bed sheets, uniforms, curtains, etc. he added. IIT has collaborated with All India Institute of Medical Science for the pilot run of the product.