IIT Guwahati researchers have developed a “simple and affordable” method to detect and measure the amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.
The new detection approach is based on how quickly a clay-virus-electrolyte mixture settles, a process commonly known as sedimentation, offering a simple and affordable alternative to the complex and expensive methods currently in use for virus detection, the IIT said on Friday.
The findings of this research have been published in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal Applied Clay Science in a paper co-authored by Prof T.V. Bharat, department of civil engineering, and Prof Sachin Kumar, department of biosciences and bioengineering, along with research scholars Dr Himanshu Yadav and Deepa Mehta,
at IIT Guwahati.
The findings have been released amid the recent rise in active Covid-19 cases, prompting the Union health ministry to conduct a stock-taking on June 2 and 3 on the overall preparedness of the states to tackle the situation.
“Prof T.V. Bharat along with his research team has used Bentonite clay, well known for its ability to absorb pollutants and heavy metals due to its unique chemical structure, in collaboration with Prof Sachin Kumar. Previous studies have shown that clay particles can bind with viruses and bacteriophages, making it a promising material for virus detection,” the IIT statement said.