A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has developed a transparent, non-toxic and environmentally friendly anti-viral surface coating material that is reportedly effective against non-pathogenic viruses.

Unlike previous coating solutions that inactivate viruses using copper — a non-transparent and known toxic material — or silver ions, the IITGN coating is derived from non-stoichiometric amorphous titanium oxide, which is sustainable and non-toxic.

According to the IITGN researchers, the coating is durable, chemically stable, and extremely adhesive to various substrates including glass, metal, steel, silicon and Teflon. This makes the substance appropriate for coating glass windows, glass doors, wooden and plastic furniture, doorknobs, handles, household appliances, electronics, vehicles and more.

Following a series of tests wherein the coating was exposed to high-touch surfaces, the team determined that the coating maintained its anti-viral properties even after repeated washings, thereby preventing viral infection and its transmission from such surfaces.

Although the new coating emerges at a time when several coating solutions have been developed to fight surface transmissions of the coronavirus, so far, the team has not tested the coating against this pathogenic agent.