Why in news?
Recently, the Department of Science and Technology – Science and Engineering Board (DST-SERB) has approved several special research projects to urgently ramp up national R&D efforts against the epidemic.
Details:
About Technology Projects
- The first project is led by IIT-Bombay to search for potential metabolite biomarker signature for COVID infection and recognition of novel targets for therapy.
- The second project is led by IIT-Kanpur which will work on developing materials with coatings that can effectively destroy viruses and the materials will be cost-effective, can be repurposed and will be used in various healthcare settings.
- The third project is related to development of antiviral surface coatings to prevent the spread of infections caused by influenza virus and the objective of the project is to develop small molecular and polymeric compounds which will be coated, both covalently as well as non-covalently, on various surfaces and kill respiratory viruses completely upon contact.
- The fourth project led by IIT-Delhi which includes developing material that may be used as a virus tactic and be applied to mops to disinfect the surfaces to remove any adhering viruses or bacteria.
- The fifth project is led by IIT-Bombay which will work on developing anti-bodies against the ‘spike’ glycoprotein of the novel coronavirus.
