Scientists, start-ups step up efforts to make masks more effective

They are developing everything from static electricity-generating face covers to kill the virus, to full-face armour for healthcare workers, patients and even delivery personnel

The central government and various states have been pushing for stricter social distancing norms while making face masks mandatory in certain vulnerable zones. Scientists, innovators and start-ups are coming up with innovative solutions backed by science and design to make face masks more effective and durable. 

A team of three scientists at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed a mask powered by electro-statics or Triboelectricity to make them more effective.

"It is based on a simple lesson one would have learnt in their school days — 'the comb attracting paper bits' experiment," said Dr Ashuthosh Singh, a scientist at CeNS. "Here the polypropylene material on either side of the mask gets rubbed against the nylon in between while speaking or chewing or manual rubbing every half an hour." The mask, named Tribo E Mask, then generates static electricity further reducing the risks of transmitting the virus, he added.

The team consisting of Pralay Santra, Ashutosh Singh, and Giridhar U Kulkarni is working with one of the large textile brands to produce the masks on a mass scale for public use. The cost of production is Rs 20 per piece.

The mask is, however, not recommended for healthcare workers and infected patients at present. "Though concept works theoretically, it has pending approvals from the government and DST after testing it with the affected cases," Singh said.

A two-wheeler rider wearing full-face armour. Credits: Irfan Khan, founder and CEO, EbikeGo

Two-wheeler rental start-up EbikeGo has developed a full-face armour in collaboration with Gurugram-based Desmania Designs. It is being used to cater to the delivery executives who use electric bikes.

"Currently, there are no government norms to wear a helmet for low-speed electric scooters," said Irfan Khan, founder and CEO, EbikeGo. "The armour covers the whole face including your eyes from airborne germs. It has better durability compared to an N95 mask as it is made of plastic and acrylic."

The mask has a preliminary barrier for eyes, mouth and nose while providing a clear vision of 150 degrees to the wearer due to the low refractive index of acrylic. It is also attached with a nano-surge filter. 

The company intends to promote 50,000 masks in the next three months and already received over 5,000 in bulk orders and cost of production is around Rs 800 per mask. 

The Amritsar-based start-up, with an e-bike fleet of 18,000, partners with firms like Amazon, Flipkart and Zomato for providing vehicles and also ties up with the e-commerce players for providing delivery services.

Nineteen-year-old National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad) student Tejas Gopalan has come up with 'Covid-19 Ear Protector'- a panel made out of High-Density Poly-Ethylene (HDPE) on which the elastic bands of masks rest instead of your ears.

The idea behind the innovation is to prevent doctors and frontline workers from developing rashes or ear pain for wearing masks for long hours. 

"I have not consciously applied for a patent as I want it to get maximum reach and accessibility during this uncertain times and I have helped people from Australia and New Zealand for the design," said Gopalan. "Now we are thinking about a solution to make it bio-degradable and planning to bring in the Internet of Things (IoT) to ease supply chain issues and demand projections." Gopalan had drawn inspiration for the design from a Canada-based creator Ken Lord.

The panel costs Rs 10 per piece and the product marketed under his father's firm Heterogenous Communications. Chennai-based Kauvery Hospitals was first to come forward to order 10,000 pieces and other prominent hospital chains such as Apollo and MIOT have come on board since then.