Pune based start-up set to launch non-toxic, alcoholic-free sanitiser soon

A Pune based start-up is all set to launch an alcohol-free, aqueous, non-inflammable and non-toxic hand sanitiser that is gentler to one’s skin. Developed from Silver Nanoparticles, this environment-friendly sanitiser is a perfect solution to the problem of drying up of hands due to repeated application of hand sanitisers.

As per the release, the hand sanitiser developed by Weinnovate Biosolutions prolongs antimicrobial activity thus obviating the need for repeated applications. Silver nanoparticles give slow and sustained release of silver ions to kill microorganisms that come in contact. Besides, it can be stored in ambient conditions.

“It has successfully completed 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 negative-strand RNA and viral budding.

The startup was supported by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB)’s CAWACH 2020 and incubated at Entrepreneurship Development Centre (Venture Centre), Pune.

Dr Anupama Engineer, co-founder & COO Weinnovate Biosolutions said, “We are very confident of the study outcomes and waiting to get the license for our hand sanitiser formulation from CDSCO, India. We are sure that such innovation will push India towards its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission and make India a self-sustained nation to face such pandemics in future.”

Silver nanoparticles have been found to be an effective antiviral that acts against many deadly viruses like HIV, Hepatitis B, Herpes simplex virus, Influenza virus, and so on, the release said. A study to evaluate the efficacy of hand sanitiser on different types of viruses is also currently underway by the group.