GCU gets three US patents

Lahore: The Government College University, Lahore has set an unprecedented national record of getting three United States patents in a short period of two years in the fields of chemistry, nanotechnology and environmental sciences. The United States Patent and Trademark Office patented the university’s ‘analytical grade salt’, ‘nano-leucite for slow release nitrogen fertiliser and green environment’ and ‘zinc oxide nanoflakes for treatment of pollutants’.

The analytical grade slat, invited by a team of the university’s scientists led by Dr Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh, is the world’s purest salt having purity level of 99.7 percent, whereas the best analytical grade slat being used by the reputed multinational pharmaceutical companies in the world have the purity level of just 99.5 percent. The university scientists made the salt from the rock salt of Khewra mines.

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman said that Pakistan could make billions of tonnes of this analytical grade salt and export it to the world for its use in medicines. He said that Pakistan, despite having all the resources, was an underdeveloped country because they exported raw material to the world and then imported the products made from their raw material. He said that indigenous industries had to cooperate with universities for the development of the country.

The Vice Chancellor said that the university’s scientists had also got the United States patents for developing zinc oxide nanoflakes which had the great ability to filter the polluted waste of the indigenous textile industry.

Talking about the university’s nano-fertiliser which produces healthier food and increases the crop yield, the Vice Chancellor said that they were evaluating the offers of various fertiliser industries for initiating its commercial production.

The Vice Chancellor also said that with the increase in the international collaborations, research output, postgraduate programs and faculty and student strength, GCU had made a debut in the world ranking of universities.  A Turkish informatics centre, who issued world ranking of universities every year, included GCU for the very first time in world’s best universities. Even, the several departments of the university are included in the world’s best 1,000.

Prof Rahman said that the university was expecting another patent in the coming weeks which was at its last stages with the US Patent office.