News / National
UZ develops herbal cream for albinos
05 Aug 2014 at 07:00hrs | Views
The University of Zimbabwe in partnership with local scientists has developed a herbal cream using nanotechnology to be used by albinos, a parliamentary committee has heard.
Nanotechnology is the application of processes and products at nanometer (10-9m). Products from nanotechnology have been developed with significantly improved properties such as durability, efficiency and precision.
Technical director for nanotechnology, Charles Maponga told the parliamentary committee on Higher and Tertiary Education chaired by MDC-T MP for Chinhoyi, Peter Maturese, that his department contracted the UZ to develop the cream to be used by albinos as a sunscreen since it was cheaper and had less known side effects.
"We are only waiting for a certificate that protects the intellectual rights of the researcher before we commercialise it. Soon the vice chancellor of the University, Professor Levi Nyagura, will launch the cream and we shall donate the product to 500 albinos as a way to promote the local research," he said.
The director who was appearing before the committee to explain what government was doing to promote the use of nanotechnology, said so far, his department was carrying research on many medicines chief among them the medication to treat HIV and replace the conventional ones with Nano substances.
"We started with albinos because they are vulnerable and discriminated by society. The cream developed from Nanotechnology can prolong lives of albinos," he said.
Maponga, who is also head of the UZ's School of Pharmacy, said the institution was engaged in a 10-year partnership with the State University of New York searching for affordable and effective solutions to HIV and AIDS infections, and other diseases.
"We are now thinking of HIV eradication as a solved problem that is only waiting for implementation," Maponga told the committee.
Nanotechnology is the application of processes and products at nanometer (10-9m). Products from nanotechnology have been developed with significantly improved properties such as durability, efficiency and precision.
Technical director for nanotechnology, Charles Maponga told the parliamentary committee on Higher and Tertiary Education chaired by MDC-T MP for Chinhoyi, Peter Maturese, that his department contracted the UZ to develop the cream to be used by albinos as a sunscreen since it was cheaper and had less known side effects.
"We are only waiting for a certificate that protects the intellectual rights of the researcher before we commercialise it. Soon the vice chancellor of the University, Professor Levi Nyagura, will launch the cream and we shall donate the product to 500 albinos as a way to promote the local research," he said.
The director who was appearing before the committee to explain what government was doing to promote the use of nanotechnology, said so far, his department was carrying research on many medicines chief among them the medication to treat HIV and replace the conventional ones with Nano substances.
"We started with albinos because they are vulnerable and discriminated by society. The cream developed from Nanotechnology can prolong lives of albinos," he said.
Maponga, who is also head of the UZ's School of Pharmacy, said the institution was engaged in a 10-year partnership with the State University of New York searching for affordable and effective solutions to HIV and AIDS infections, and other diseases.
"We are now thinking of HIV eradication as a solved problem that is only waiting for implementation," Maponga told the committee.
Source - The Zim Mail
