A lot earlier than the Central Authorities’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) marketing campaign, there was a younger academician in New Delhi who lived by these tenets.
Whereas pursuing a PhD in polymer nanotechnology on the Indian Institute of Expertise (IIT) in Delhi, Dr Anasuya Roy determined to take her analysis past paper.
“India, at that time of time (2018-19), was importing all its anti-microbial expertise from different nations. After we don’t have a dearth of brains, why ought to we be importing?” Anasuya shares with The Higher India.
This thought gave beginning to the entrepreneur contained in the researcher. She determined to create an affect utilizing her patented antimicrobial energetic copper expertise.
However the way to go about it? The reply to this query offered itself within the type of COVID-19.
The world was seeking to make masks and there was a large scarcity at first. The textile engineer used her patented expertise and made ‘NSafe masks’ which turned out to be a gamechanger. The material-based antimicrobial face masks was made in India, decreasing the necessity for imports.
Along with her idea validated, the 36-year-old Delhi resident then moved on to make use of her expertise throughout totally different industries like polymers, textiles, and coatings, creating use instances in merchandise like metal bottles, water tanks, building chemical substances, mattresses, leather-based upholstery; even the car trade!
Thus far, her firm, Nanosafe Options, has created 40 merchandise utilizing their energetic copper expertise. Additionally they closed their maiden funding spherical of Rs 3.13 crore not too long ago. It will give a fillip to their mission of stopping imports in area of interest materials science merchandise.
Making India Aatmanirbhar
Anasuya pursued an MTech in Fibre Science and Expertise from IIT-Delhi, put up which she enrolled for a PhD program in the identical establishment from 2014 to 2019.
It was throughout her PhD course that she had a major realisation — she wished to make an affect past academia.
“I used to be researching antimicrobial supplies, focusing particularly on polymers. The main focus of my doctoral analysis was growing such supplies. Whereas we labored with totally different inorganic supplies like silver, copper, our main focus was on the antimicrobial properties of copper nanoparticles,” says the scientist.
Her analysis centered on growing antimicrobial supplies that might inhibit the expansion of microorganisms. In her closing yr of doctoral analysis, she determined to develop indigenous antimicrobial applied sciences that would supply options throughout totally different industries.
She obtained a Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) from the Biotechnology Business Analysis Help Council (BIRAC) in 2019, which helped kick off her enterprise. In addition to spending time on the lab, she additionally spent an equal period of time within the industrial space of Bawana in Delhi.
“Seeing the equipment helped me formulate the enterprise in an industrially-compatible method. Past my work on the lab, it took me nearly a yr to grasp the method on floor. On this one yr of incubation, I understood how I wished to provide the anti-microbial expertise for various industries,” shares the engineer.
Whereas she labored on her startup child, she additionally turned a mom. By March 2020, she had all of the processes discovered and was near-ready to begin manufacturing. And what set the ball rolling had been the antimicrobial masks.
What’s the expertise? Why copper?
Nanosafe’s patented expertise is predicated on energetic copper and protects in opposition to the totally different microbes like micro organism, virus, fungi and algae within the atmosphere.
“It’s a micronutrient and has antimicrobial properties. This makes our expertise protected and sustainable,” says the scientist.
Copper in India is usually used for disinfection due to its ‘purifying’ properties as per conventional sciences.
“We now have developed expertise which stems from the standard science that advocates using copper for the purification of water. We now have synthesised it to behave in opposition to 4 totally different microbes — micro organism, virus, fungi and algae. Whereas most corporations act solely in opposition to one of many 4, we’re the one ones working in opposition to all,” shares Anasuya.
The startup has 4 patents for the utilization of energetic copper in numerous methods. The founder additionally shares that what makes the expertise distinctive is copper, the core ingredient.
“There are lots of applied sciences based mostly on silver. Whereas nano silver is poisonous for human consumption, copper is protected on all these parameters; is sustainable and can be an important micronutrient,” she provides.
To place it merely, the expertise harnesses the ability of energetic copper to disinfect the product from microbes.
Nanosafe’s patented course of synthesises supply copper into energetic micro-size particles, which is then used to create formulations in powder, liquid and different kinds, which then kill the microbes.
These particles are then mixed with different supplies to provide commercially-viable merchandise. These merchandise are used throughout totally different supplies like plastic, foam, textiles, polymers, paints, coatings and cosmetics.
“All of our formulations are substantiated throughout totally different ISO (Worldwide Organisation for Standardisation) and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Supplies) testing requirements with constant 99.99% antimicrobial exercise,” she provides.
Off the crushed observe
Whereas promoting masks, she was launched to her co-founder Nirav Mehta, who urged pivoting to different industries. They diversified to plastic, polymer supplies, beginning with water tanks and pipes, that are susceptible to microbial infections.
After the water phase, they moved to foam utilized in mattresses, the place there was a transparent want for disinfection. They’re now additionally working with car corporations to make the frequent contact factors inside antimicrobial.
Their prospects embody Astral Pipes, Supreme, LG and extra. The scientist provides that they customise the expertise based mostly on the wants of the client.
Nanosafe has received a number of awards for its pioneering expertise together with the Nationwide Begin Up Award 2023 and the Nationwide Expertise Excellence Award 2022 by the Division of Science and Expertise.
Going forward, Anasuya desires Nanosafe to develop into a powerhouse within the materials science’s area.
“We’re engaged on constructing different area of interest applied sciences to champion the reason for import substitution and export promotion,” she provides.
Edited by Padmashree Pande, Pictures Courtesy: Dr Anasuya Roy.
