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 manufacturers, 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 becomes responsible for 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.
Other Innovative Products
For preventing the coronavirus, air hygiene is one of the most important considerations.
Yeson Tech, a knowledge-based company located in Tehran, has developed advanced air purifiers that can help eliminate the virus from the surrounding atmosphere.
According to Fereshteh Qomi, a co-founder of the company, the air sanitizer system can kill microorganisms like Covid-19 in 20 minutes.
“The device employs advanced nano and cold plasma technologies to achieve a high efficiency of over 90%. It sucks polluted air and then releases sanitized air after processing it through several phases,” she explained.
Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal processing technology that uses energetic, reactive gases to inactivate contaminating microbes. Its primary function is in decontaminating meats, poultry, fruits and vegetables.
The system, which can purify air over an area of 500 square meters, also serves as an air generator for homes and clinics.
According to Qomi, her company had manufactured and sold 400 air purifiers in the domestic market during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22).
“We're working on expanding Yeson's horizons by undertaking exports to neighboring countries,” she said.
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.
State Support
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed healthcare systems around the world, including Iran.
The negative effects of the pandemic have disrupted the business activities of a large number of fledgling startups and knowledge-based companies. As a result, Iranian authorities are increasing support for these entities.
The state-run Iran National Innovation Fund has announced that it has loaned 8 trillion rials ($28.88 million) to startups after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in mid-February 2020 to cushion the impact of the pandemic on tech-based companies.
Siavash Malekifar, the fund’s deputy for development, said financial aid packages were prepared to help virus-hit businesses normalize their operations.
The fund called on tech teams to help provide health protective and medical devices to improve treatment facilities with loans worth 3.5 trillion rials ($12.63 million).
Malekifar noted that out of 400 companies that applied, 70 received funds the loans to produce ventilators, oxygen generators, test kits, facemasks, sanitizers and medication.
“INIF resumed loan payments to distressed fledgling and growing businesses a few months later,” he said.
“The second round of financial aid worth 5 billion rials [$18,000] for each company went to small businesses with fewer employees and lower wages. The Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology introduced innovative teams in tech parks and tech units as the next group for loan consideration.”
According to Malekifar, loans totaling 4 trillion rials ($14.44 million) were given to 500 virus-affected tech units.
Official reports show the virus has so far taken the lives of 127,173 people out of a total of 5,980,260 infected people in Iran.
Iran’s Health Ministry has announced that 5,588,545 patients have recovered from the disease.
