Spray to beef up defence against coronavirus
Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has contributed to tackling the pandemic through its development of the Chula Covid-19 Strip Test as a fast and convenient preliminary blood test to screen infection risks.
The faculty’s research project has also developed sprays to enhance the effectiveness of fabric face masks.
Concerned about waste and environmental impact from discarded single-use medical masks, researchers initially developed Shield Protecting Spray to improve the performance of fabric masks against PM2.5.
The Covid-19 crisis then led to an upgrade to the Shield+ Protecting Spray to beef up defence against respiratory droplets — a primary mode of viral transmission.
The research team, led by Asst Prof Jittima Luckanagul, compared fabric masks used with and without the innovative spray.
The Shield+ Protecting Spray contains a pharmaceutical polymer that intertwines fibres. The resulting tighter fabric makes the mask a better shield while increasing the efficiency of filtering up to 0.3 micron ultrafine dust as well as germs in saliva and the air. Moreover, the fabric mask becomes more waterproof.
Supported by public and private allies, production is a collaboration between the research team and pharmacist Puttimon Sribonfha, CEO of Nabsolute, a start-up under CU Innovation Hub.
Under Good Manufacturing Practice, the goal is to produce 10,000 bottles which will be distributed to healthcare supporting teams such as hospital delivery drivers, police officers and soldiers at Covid-19 checkpoints, and waste collectors.
— Kanokporn Chanasongkram