Israeli mask maker Sonovia has published a report from Italy’s leading textile testing laboratory showing that its fabric removes COVID-19 Delta variant particles with more than 99.95 efficiency. %.
Upon the announcement of the results, the company’s shares jumped by nearly 30%, the company’s founder Shuki Hershcovich told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday during a meeting at his headquarters in Ramat Gan.
Specifically, the masks were tested by VisMederi Textyle, the same laboratory that previously reported that the unique fabric, coated in silver and zinc nanoparticles, also protects against the COVID-19 variant and British H1N1, also known as swine flu.
Sonovia’s chief technology officer, Liat Goldhammer-Steinberg, said the next lab is expected to test the fabric against the Mu strain, which carries several mutations for the mutated gene and is approved by the Health Organization World marked as “variant of interest”
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According to any official reports, the Mu strain has not yet entered Israel, but Health Ministry officials have warned of its potential negative impact.
VisMederi is a commercial research laboratory located in Italy. It says on its website that the company “is currently receiving orders worldwide in the field of vaccines, where it conducts analytical testing of biological samples and validates analytical methods.” biology for the pharmaceutical industry.”
The Delta variant is currently the predominant coronavirus variant worldwide. It has been in circulation for several months in Israel. This month alone, more than 530 people have died from the Delta variant.
These latest results make the company the only known textile manufacturer that has been shown to eliminate both Alpha and Delta COVID-19 strains, further demonstrating the role of masks – and specifically these nano silver and zinc masks – can play a role in stopping the spread of the virus.
Sonovia creative director Jordan Fox said: “We want to provide our customers with safety when they wear a mask.
Sonovia’s technology uses sound waves to introduce nano silver and zinc nanoparticles into textile fibers to kill bacteria and viruses. The technology is now being applied to a variety of other products under its SonoMask brand, including seat covers for public transport and airplane seats, bed sheets and pillowcases for the hotel sector, and pants. shirt.
Professor Amos Adler, director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Tel Aviv University, with whom the firm consults, previously said that “COVID-19 variants may have epidemiological or immunological properties. different epidemiology, as a result of point mutations in critical regions of the receptor-binding domain. However, the overall structure and physiological properties of the virus are almost identical. Therefore, the antiviral effect produced by Sonovia-treated fabrics is expected to be present in all COVID-19 variants. “
Adler also advises the European Center for Disease Control.
Sonovia was founded in 2013 but was largely unknown before the coronavirus pandemic. In the past 18 months, the company has grown from a handful of employees to 60 employees and nearly 200 contract workers.
All masks are made in Israel to achieve the highest level of quality control, the company said.
Earlier this year, Sonovia announced a partnership with a pilot agreement with Delta Galil Industries, which makes clothing for major brands from Victoria’s Secret to Calvin Klein, to provide sustainable sportswear and other accessories. other odor-preventing clothing.
“Our clients want tangible results, and this is what we are delivering,” said CEO Igal Zeitun.
This article was written in collaboration with Sonovia. To learn more about the company, visit the Sonovia website
