Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) have developed their own hand sanitiser, in line with the standards recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a Federal Health Agency in the U.S, for the institute community.
Around 10 litres of the hand sanitiser have already been made available on campus for students, staff and faculty at locations such as faculty lounge, Shiru Café, meeting halls and laboratories, among other areas.
The sanitiser was developed by Shivakalyani Adepu, a research scholar at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, IIT-H, along with Mudrika Khandelwal, associate professor, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering.
Speaking about their effort, Ms. Khandelwal said: “My research group has always believed in doing scientific research and outreach for the benefit of society. This is our small contribution in the time of need. I am glad we would make this happen and hope to make similar contributions in future”.
The composition of this hand sanitiser is 70% isopropanol with glycerol and polypropylene glycol to increase the viscosity and reduce the volatility so that the sanitiser stays on skin to allow action, as well as lemongrass oil for antimicrobial activity and therapeutic aroma. The 70% IPA solution penetrates the cell wall, coagulates all proteins, and kills the micro-organism.
Ms. Adepu, who completed her PhD last month, said: “This was done purely to support the community at a time when it is critical to adopt safe and hygienic practices. We have not thought of commercialisation. Our motto is to help people around us. We can assure that these are as safe as any commercial sanitiser and possibly more effective. Our laboratory conducts a lot of microbiological studies and we have tested these kinds of materials before and have been using the same for several years now. Its efficacy is well known and has been reported”.
