By Violy B. Conoza
Exclusive to the BusinessMirror
RECENT events around the world point to the significance of being reminded of our past, including in the realm of science and technology, and learn our lessons.
At the Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST- ITDI), it looks like merging the old and new may lead us into building the research and development (R and D) ecosystem of the next generation and create a momentum for the development of new technologies and pioneering industry.
Looking back, DOST-ITDI Director Dr. Annabelle V. Briones said, “We spared no effort working with our stakeholders—the industry, government agencies and academic institutions here and abroad, in technology cooperation and development.’’
She added, “With so much optimism, with this cooperation and bridging of talents and expertise, we look forward to enhanced STI [science and technology innovation] competitiveness and the emergence of new R and D capabilities that would translate into new products and services that meet the current and future needs of our nation and people.’’
ITDI then
Tracing its roots back in 1901 from the then-Bureau of Government Laboratories (BGL), ITDI is celebrating its 119th founding anniversary on July 1.
From basic researches to mapping of the country’s flora and fauna and other local resources for scientific studies, ITDI has been a great force in establishing the R and D agenda in the country.
It was 1958 when the BGL became the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) that industrial R and D started gaining ground while harnessing local resources and skills toward self-sufficiency and optimized productivity.
Industrial R and D went full gear in 1987 when the NIST was renamed Industrial Technology Development Institute.
ITDI’s R and D now focuses on five major areas—food, environment and biotechnology, chemicals and energy, materials science, and packaging—all aimed at supporting and answering the needs of local industries.
Complementing its R and D are its technical services (standards and testing, national metrology and technology transfer) aimed at harnessing local industries’ productivity and competitiveness; and translation of developed knowledge into the production sector, paving the way for new businesses or start-ups.
Ceaselessly, the institute pursued its mandate and has always been a tireless partner of local industries in developing new products or improving current processes toward increased productivity.
Among its noteworthy innovations over the last five years was the rolling out of DOST-developed food processing equipment which also resulted in the establishment of Food Innovation Centers (FICs) all over the country.
The FICs served as a platform for the engagement of the industry, academe, and businesses in the regions for food innovation or the creation of new products using locally available resources both in raw materials and manpower.
Likewise, through its Graduate Research Collaboration Program, the institute initiated partnerships with nine academic institutions to strengthen R and D collaborations that would further improve the country’s innovation index through increased scientific and technical publications.
ITDI now: R&D at the heart of crises response
Recent crises that have plagued the country saw the mobilization and application of technologies generated from R and D to help make communities recover and whole again.
DOST-ITDI has been active in delivering interventions to the Marawi rehabilitation and in calamity-stricken areas around the country.
After the Marawi siege, ITDI Director Briones said, “The institute provided livelihood products and technologies to Maranao communities to help them recover. Essential oil extraction from citronella grass and other plant materials that are abundant in Marawi City; charcoal briquetting and equipment; moringa and turmeric herbal tea with equipment were among the technologies we provided.”
“We also deployed Rainwater Collection Systems in selected barangays and households to address the problem on water scarcity in the community,” she added.
Besides helping rebuild Marawi, ITDI also supported the Boracay rehabilitation by conducting waste analysis and characterization studies and deploying bioreactors to help local government units in managing their solid wastes.
While in disaster-stricken areas, ITDI distributed ready-to-eat foods to the survivors of Typhoon Ompong in Regions II and Cordillera Administrative Region, as well as those affected by the eruption of Mayon Volcano in Albay and nearby communities.
Also, DOST-ITDI has developed an Emergency Disinfection System, a mobile, cost-efficient and ready-to-use treatment system for water from different possible sources including flood water, that comes in handy during calamities when utilities are down. The system has an integrated solar panel for energy supply.
Likewise, training on water treatment technology was provided to earthquake survivors of Barangays Malabuan and Malungon in Makilala, Cotabato, last November as an emergency support to the affected communities.
Most recently, with the Covid-19 pandemic which we have been experiencing since the first quarter of the year, ITDI has been very much responsive.
At the height of the pandemic and when most of the country was in enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), DOST-ITDI bravely rose to the call of duty and distributed ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, such as the “Pack of Hope” and mungbean-coco milk drink to the frontliners in Metropolitan Manila and other regions in the country.
In addition, its Multiple Materials Platform for Additive Manufacturing (Matdev) of DOST’s Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) produced face shields via 3D printing and donated these to hospital frontliners.
As the fight against Covid-19 pandemic has become more challenging due to the increasing need and limited supply of respirators and ventilators, Briones added that ITDI responded “by having Matdev develop prototypes of respirator Venturi valves and 3D printed them, and donated to the National Children’s Hospital in Quezon City for test fitting in their existing respirators; while more ventilator parts were 3D printed for other hospitals in Metro Manila.”
The Matdev Team is also improving the nebulizer mask design and developed a 3D-printed filter attachment for use in commercially available masks, such as the Modified Oxygen Concentrator Mask. The attachment allows for a more efficient way for patients to breathe in medications.
In addition, they are considering some improvements for the N95 mask for optimum functionality by using nano-enabled filament material, an antiviral filter cloth and adding a flexible lining on the edges of the mask.
More recently, they evaluated the characteristics of alternative types of air filtration materials for respirators at University of Santo Tomas Hospital to determine which among the available air filter alternatives performs similarly to heat and moisture exchange filters which became difficult to acquire since this pandemic.
Besides the medical dimension of this health crisis, the institute is also providing interventions for our displaced countrymen who lost their jobs and livelihood by making available online, ITDI technologies which can be applied as income-generating ventures even at the backyard or home scale level.
A sneak peek into the future
As the country continues to surge further into the future, ITDI has been preparing for an innovative ecosystem for new knowledge and technology to thrive.
“We are now aggressively pursuing the institutionalization of R and D initiatives and technical services that are attuned to current and emerging needs and help make us ready for Industry 4.0 [IR 4.0],” Briones said.
State-of-the-art facilities are being established. To upgrade its packaging capability, construction of the Simulation Packaging Testing Laboratory and Green Packaging Laboratory has started.
A first in the country, SPTL can simulate actual environmental hazards that the packaged products undergo during distribution in the supply chain. The laboratory will comply with the testing protocols of International Safe Transit Association Global for transport packaging.
Besides the in-house R and D, it shall serve as venue for collaboration in conducting training, R and D and testing for researchers and students in the country and Asean member countries, and will be operational soon.
ITDI’s facility, AMCen, DOST’s 3-D printing technology center and a joint project of ITDI’s Materials Science Division (MSD), and the DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), will focus on materials development from local sources for 3D printing.
At the same time, the DOST-MIRDC is into Research on Rapid and Advanced Prototyping for Product Innovation and Development using Additive Manufacturing Technologies.
AMCen is a pioneering facility in Southeast Asia envisioned to transition local traditional manufacturing to additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, that can greatly reduce cost and promotes use of local materials.
ITDI is likewise harnessing its halal R&D and has established its own Halal Food Research and Development Facility.
With this facility, the institute hopes to develop new food products that are compliant to halal standards, as well as support DOST as it responds to Republic Act 10817, or the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act.
In support of this program, ITDI had its the first-ever Global Halal Awareness Program, Halal Lead Auditors Training and Certification Program to equip the participants with knowledge on halal food management system to support the increasing demand for halal products in the local market.
This comprehensive training program also ensured that all halal industry players adhere to common standards and procedures to harmonize halal compliance globally, and has produced a total of 23 DOST-ITDI certified halal lead auditors.
Meanwhile, embarking on a program entitled, “Enhancement of the Competence and Capabilities of the National Metrology Laboratory[NML] of the Philippines,” ITDI, through this program, has been upgrading its expertise and equipment, and construction of laboratory facilities for Metrology in Chemistry and Biology are now ongoing.
It is envisioned that the NML will provide the country with credible measurements and traceability in the fields of physical, chemical and biological metrology.
Just recently, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the DOST response has been decisive. With the support of President Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the DOST will establish the Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP) to be constructed at the New Clark Economic Zone in Capas, Tarlac.
With this development, ITDI will be playing a vital role. Its former Pharmaceutical Development Unit will be reactivated as a Tuklas Lunas Center for Pharmaceuticals Development that can initiate and strengthen local vaccine development.
It was stated in the president’s report that “it will act as the [Science] department’s bridge between laboratories of its 22 network research institutions under the Tuklas Lunas program to the market.”
As approved, the VIP shall be pursuing priority virology research and developing diagnostic kits, therapeutics, and vaccines for diseases caused by viruses.
“The establishment of the VIP is one of the strategies to be adopted to attain a significant level of self-reliance in generating knowledge on viruses and developing products that the country needs to address viral diseases,” Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Pena said.
“It will conduct innovative scientific research on viral agents requiring high or maximum containment [biosafety level-2 to biosafety level-4] following the World Health Organization’s guidelines on the establishment of a virology laboratory in developing countries”, the secretary added.
Indeed, merging the old and new may lead us into building the R and D ecosystem of the next generation and create a momentum for the development of new technologies and pioneering industry.
“With so much optimism, with this cooperation and the bridging of talents and expertise, we look forward to enhanced STI competitiveness and the emergence of new R&D capabilities that, hopefully, will translate into new products and services that meet the current and future needs of our nation and people,’’ Briones said.
(Violy B. Conoza is a supervising research specialist at the DOST-ITDI.)