Development of a microbial coating for cellulosic surface using aloe vera and silane

The highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus has created a havoc effect all over the world in a very short period. The most effective method for precaution of this virus as suggested by WHO is use of PPEs (triple layered face mask, body suits) and social distancing. However, the frontline doctors and medical staff have high risk of exposure to the virus during treatments and removal and discarding of the PPEs. Also the PPEs are of the onetime use and wearing these PPEs in hot and humid seasons is very uncomfortable. A possible solution of this problem is if clothes are anti-bacterial and anti-viral in nature, one single-layered will be sufficient and the spread of virus will also be minimized. Considering this, we have designed a facile and durable anti-wash antimicrobial coating on cloth by aloe vera and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS). In lab scale study, present coating shows good chemical and thermal stability making it reusable multiple times even after repeated washing. The coated cloth reveals the excellent anti-dirt and stain resistance properties leading to complete non-adherence of dirt and stain (e.g. Color, food, ink) on it. Anti-bacterial and anti-fungi properties of the coated cloth were confirmed by doing E. coli (bacteria) and A. Niger (fungus) culture studies, respectively. This coating is imbibed with well-known anti-viral agent aloe vera which inhibits the attachment of the virus on the surface. The water-repellent nature of the coating combined with the use anti-viral agent, aloe vera makes it a potential anti-COVID-19 coating.