Indian startup launches hand sanitiser using silver nanoparticles

Indian startup Weinnovate Biosolutions has developed a hand sanitiser from silver nanoparticles. It has completed the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved clinical trial for the hand sanitiser and demonstrated high efficiency in killing viruses. The technology operates on the ability of the silver nanoparticles to prevent the synthesis of viral negativestrand RNA and viral budding. Weinnovate Biosolutions was supported by CAWACH 2020 grant of the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and incubated at Entrepreneurship Development Centre (Venture Centre), Pune. Silver nanoparticles are an effective antiviral that acts against many deadly viruses like HIV, Hepatitis B, Herpes simplex virus, Influenza virus, and so on. Recent reports have suggested the role of Glutathione capped-Ag2S NCs (Silver nanoclusters) in inhibiting the proliferation of Coronavirus by preventing the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding. The colloidal silver on which the technology of the sanitisers of Weinnovate Biosolutions is based can help arrest COVID-19 spread by blocking the RNA replication and infectivity by blocking the surface glycoproteins.