India certifies CoronaOven as ‘safe’ now ⁠— and it could cost anywhere between ₹9,999 and ₹18,999

• Central Scientific Instruments Organization, a national laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has certified ‘CoronaOven’ as safe.
  
• Developed by the nanotechnology startup Log9 Materials, the UV disinfectant product is said to have antimicrobial capabilities and can sanitise materials like masks, groceries in ten minutes.
  
• The development makes CoronaOven the only UV disinfectant in India so far, which has been certified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved institution.
  
• The company claims to have sold over 1,500 units so far.

Central Scientific Instruments Organization, a national laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has certified ‘CoronaOven’ — an UltraViolet (UV) disinfection product to sanitise masks, PPE kits, groceries etc — for safety and its UV-C (based on UltraViolet Germicidal Irradiation) light intensity.

Developed by the nanotechnology startup Log9 Materials, the UV disinfectant product is said to have antimicrobial capabilities and can sanitise materials in ten minutes. The company claims to have sold over 1,500 units. In fact, one of its CoronaOvens has also been ordered for French President Emmanuel Macron’s official residence.

“We have multiple variants in two categories, portable and plug-in. The plug-in version can be plugged into a normal socket and is priced between ₹9,999 to ₹12,999 for 20 litres. While the portable one, which is battery operated, will cost around ₹17,999 for 20 litres. This can be used in an ambulance, a police van or a grocery delivery van,” the company said.

The approval came after the apex body for biomedical research issued evaluation guidelines for the applications developed to contain the spread of coronavirus. Under this, the laboratories under the CSIR, Department of Biotechnology, and Department of Science & Technology evaluated the products and devices so as to verify and validate them.

“Log 9’s team reached out to CSIO, which was designated to certify novel UV based equipment. A lab assessment of CoronaOven product range was carried out at CSIR-CSIO’s centre in Taramani, Chennai. The assessment was conducted under standard temperature and humidity conditions in the lab, and the observations noted that the UV-C dose generated by CoronaOven is congruent with the FDA and NIH-conducted scientific study — which said that a certain controlled amount of UVC light can permanently damage the RNA sequence of SARS-CoV1 virus and destroy its ability to multiply in living cells,” the startup explained.

The development makes CoronaOven the only UV disinfectant in India so far, which has been certified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved institution. The startup has also partnered with ICMR approved Dang’s Path Lab in Delhi to test the efficiency of the product on microorganisms and bacteria.

“The latest certifications we have received from ICMR-approved laboratories is a testimony to the scientific and technological brilliance. As of now, CoronaOven is the only product-of-its-kind in the market,” said Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials.

The nanotechnology startup is now working with the government think tank NITI Aayog to ramp up the production and reach. It listed the product on Government of India’s e-marketplace portal (GEM).

“We are working closely with NITI Aayog, government agencies, and other key stakeholders to contribute in the best possible manner to aid India’s fight against Covid-19. I believe that this will help safeguard the Indian public against non-scientific knock-offs of our product which tend to create a false positive for the consumer,” Singhal added.

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