An Iranian biotechnology company has produced a kit for diagnosing congenital and genetic disorders.
The birth defect diagnosis kit was mass-produced by Iranian Pooyesh-e Gen Biotechnology Company after it successfully completed trials due to its advanced technology and made the country needless of similar imports.
“The kit can compete with the best foreign counterparts. Tests on more than 300 clinical samples showed the results were successful,” Mohammad Reza Heydari, the company’s CEO, was quoted as saying by the news portal of Iran’s Vise-Presidency for Science and Technology.
The kits are used to test biological samples from embryos and perform polymer chain reactions through quantitative fluorescence by analyzing 26 sites of repetitive short sequences of the genome.
The Iranian congenital abnormality detection kit has the ability to evaluate all chromosomes in terms of number and structure.
Early Detection
Congenital anomalies can be defined as structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life. Also called birth defects or congenital disorders, these conditions develop prenatally and may be identified before or at birth, or later in life.
Such abnormalities and many genetic disorders can be identified early in pregnancy using a variety of invasive and non-invasive procedures.
Tests performed in the first trimester of pregnancy to diagnose birth defects in the fetus include screening tests and diagnostic tests.
Diagnostic kits help perform rapid and accurate prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal disorders, including Down syndrome, Edward syndrome, Patau's syndrome and disorders related to the number of sex chromosomes such as Turner syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome.
Iranian Kits Advanced, Economical
The domestic kit costs one-third of the foreign counterpart and detects more disorders in children take life-saving measures for the baby and reduce birth risks.
The important issue is that foreign kits cannot detect at least two disorders that the Iranian ones are able to.
The production of the congenital anomalies’ diagnosis kit will help prevent imports, while the domestic version is cheaper and more effective.
“If the necessary support is provided, especially in the licensing of knowledge-based companies, the opportunity for development of Iranian-made products will increase,” Heydari said.
Tech Ecosystem and Covid-19
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran in February 2020, local tech firms have increased efforts to combat the deadly virus.
According to local media, the technology ecosystem helped produce game-changing clinical equipment, Covid-19 test kits, facemasks, medications and sanitizers in the early days of the outbreak.
As the latest achievement, Sepanta Mehr Company and the Industrialization Center for Applied Nanotechnology have collaborated on the development of a nanotech substance that can suppress viruses, germs and fungi when applied to fabrics, ISNA reported.
The material can be used to cover a wide range of fabrics, including facemasks, surgical gowns, hospital bedsheets, furniture, rugs and even air-conditioning filters.
According to the manufacturer, the material can also be used on floor tiles, wall or wallpapers to prevent people from being contaminated in different sectors.
Early quality testing conducted by the Health Ministry's laboratories demonstrated that the nanomaterial can deactivate and kill SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) and bacteria such as S.aureus, Pneumoniae and Klebsiella.
S.aureus is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections such as abscesses, furuncles and cellulitis.
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs and Klebsiella is often present in parts of the digestive tract where they do not generally cause problems. However, in strains like Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, the bacteria are responsible for causing most human illnesses.
The product has received two standards from Iran's Institute of Standards and Industrial Research, which are registered under code numbers: 20836 and 11070.
With lower production costs, the material can save a lot of money on imports of similar products while maintaining high quality.
A similar product has been developed by a Qazvin-based tech company.
It is an electro-optical air purifier marketed under the commercial name “ViruNot”.
By releasing electromagnetic beams, the device is able to terminate a wide range of viruses and harmful microorganisms present in the air. It can be used for the sanitization of items, such as mobile phones, glass tops, wristwatches, jewelries and keys.
ViruNot can be used in drugstores, offices, banks, shops, beauty salons, restaurants and homes.
