IIT Delhi's startup develops antimicrobial solutions against hospital-acquired infections

Medicfibers, IIT Delhi incubated startup, in collaboration with AIIMS New Delhi, has developed an antimicrobial solution Viroclog® that provides long-lasting protection against hospital-acquired infections.

Medicfibers, a FITT, IIT Delhi incubated startup, in collaboration with AIIMS New Delhi, has developed an antimicrobial solution Viroclog® that when applied as a coating on textiles, provides long-lasting protection against hospital-acquired infection (HAI) by reducing virus, bacteria, fungi survival on fabric.

According to the WHO, every 1 in 10 hospitalized patients experiences an HAI globally and textile materials are major carriers of microbial pathogens resulting in serious HAI issues.

 “Hospital-acquired microbial infections are a major problem not only in India but globally. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a renewed sense of urgency in tackling this issue. In this context, it is now being realized that clothing and textile materials are not only carriers of microorganisms such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi, but also can act as a breeding ground for the growth of these microbes. Therefore, there is an urgent unmet need for medical workers in hospital settings to have protective clothing that provides long-lasting protection against microbes while being economical and comfortable. Medicfibers have performed significant work in this direction to provide affordable clothing solutions,” said Dr Vikram Saini, Medical Advisor to the startup and a faculty member at AIIMS New Delhi.

Viroclog® features

As per the official release, it provides antimicrobial efficacy up to 99.9% against viruses, bacteria & fungus, long-lasting antimicrobial properties for more than 100 washes, and products treated with Viroclog® are OEKO Tex Suited and REACH Compliant indicating that they are safe and human skin-friendly. Tests were performed at AIIMS New Delhi, IIT Delhi, IISc Bangalore and NABL accredited labs. 

Reportedly, coating the Viroclog® on textiles lowers the surface energy preventing the adhesion of microbes and destroying the membrane integrity of microbes. Destruction of lipid-based membrane barrier makes the microbes inactive, thus preventing infection transmission. The basic significance of this technology is to save lives and reduce healthcare-associated costs by integrating antimicrobial technology with hospital clothing that provides a layer of protection against microbial pathogens. The tests done by AIIMS New Delhi, IISc Bangalore, and multiple NABL accredited labs, show that Viroclog® technology contributes significantly to reducing infections through antimicrobial hospital clothing.

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