TCG CREST COVID 19 Initiatives
The global pandemic caused due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is unprecedented in modern human history and is taking a great toll on human life and the socio-economic condition of the entire world. The scientific world along with the corporates and the Government are using their skills developed in research, operations and communication to bring the latest scientific developments and technology innovations to the fore for those who are directly or indirectly fighting this battle against the virus. Organizations across the world are trying to piece together different skills and approaches to facilitate the most effective and efficient collaborative approaches for tackling this global problem. TCG CREST has also executed multiple projects and initiatives to combat this pandemic.
Project 1: Development of Novel Anti Covid Formulations
TCG CREST along with TCGLS is working on the development of some novel antiviral formulations for multiple uses based on the notion of disrupting the lipid bilayer self-assembly with co-functional additives for Interrogating and Neutralizing Viruses (including Corona) and Microbes on Contact. Such formulations are aimed at making the Hospital Assistive devices and PPEs more secure while the medical community and other professionals fights the pandemic on the war front. They could also be used on various surfaces to protect them over time.
As India is opening up for business and human activities, the Corona viral threat will keep on spreading even more. We are being constantly advised that the virus spreads very rapidly, primarily through human-to-human contact and interaction via aerosols bearing viral content. A symptomatic or even an asymptomatic person can pass on the virus by sneezing or engaging in a conversation from a close quarter whereby invisible (aerosol) droplets carrying the virus can inadvertently land on the other person and cause infection. The virus also has a finite residence time on different types of surfaces like metallic, wooden, plastics and the like, and therefore retains the potential to transmit infection. All of us will need to be equipped with strategies and novel tools/ideas to save ourselves against infections, which are quite likely to happen because of unintentional or inadvertent compromise with respect to social distancing – a key to limit the rapid spreading of the virus. This will be even more important for people fighting this challenge on the frontline such as the medical personnel, police personnel, vendors of essential supplies and the corresponding systems, and public spaces such as the hospitals, police stations, shops and malls. This calls for creative, yet simple and inexpensive solutions that are rapidly and easily implementable on a massive scale. The currently envisaged solution(s) being designed and developed by TCG CREST is an attempt in that direction. TCGLS is also contributing to the development of special molecular systems that could actively engage with the viral self-assembly.
Our research teams are involved in a variety of detailed studies involving chemistry of materials, thorough studies on the synthesis and characterizations of materials, and the formulations including their interactions and stability. The development team is preparing prototype formulations based on these new concepts and innovations. Certain basic characterization tests are being performed simultaneously in-house.
TCG CREST has collaborated with IISER, Pune to conduct the cyto-toxicity tests and Interactive Research School for Health Affairs(IRSHA), Bharati Vidyapeeth to conduct the Antiviral Assessment of antimicrobial coating against SARS –CoV2 virus
Led by renowned scientist Professor Satish Ogale, Director of Research Institute of Sustainable Energy (RISE) of TCG CREST and Dr. Soumen Sensarma, AVP, of TCGLS and his team Sandip Roy, Joydeb Manna and Newton Roy and research scientists Aishwarya Yadav and Kanchan Barve from IISER. Ayananshu Banerjee, Head Projects of TCG CREST is the project manager and Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Director of TCG CREST is the Project Director.
Project 2: COVID India Ventilators
TCG CREST has joined the Timetooth Technologies initiative as a collaboration partner.
Our society and economy is facing serious challenges due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. As has tragically happened elsewhere in the world, it is very likely that in the next few weeks and months the Indian hospital systems will become overwhelmed with critical COVID-19 patients. To save precious lives suffering from respiratory challenges due to COVID-19 infection, the Indian hospitals are going to need a huge volume of Mechanical Ventilators in a very short time and at a low cost.
To address this challenge, various teams in India from academic institutions, government establishments, PSUs, medical equipment companies, Indian conglomerates, MSMEs, young innovators or start-ups have begun well-intentioned initiatives to contribute by developing Indian emergency ventilators. The technology and approaches taken by the teams are varied, and the spectrum of solutions offered is also quite large. There are numerous pros and cons of the solutions that are coming up.
Timetooth Technologies engineering team identified some challenges and gaps in the solutions proposed and hence began this initiative. The goal of this project is to engineer and develop a medical grade, qualification tested, reliable, open source, low cost ventilator with predominantly indigenous sourcing and manufacturing in a reasonably short time. Overall, the intention is for Indian technologists to make a real difference on the ground by giving COVID-19 patients easy access to mechanical ventilators in Indian hospitals.
For more details please visit https://covidindiaventilators.com/