Antimicrobial Air Purifier developed by IIT Kanpur and IIT Bombay

Image source: Knocksence

• As the new normal has changed since the beginning of the pandemic, the measures that humans need to adapt to ensure their safety have also changed drastically.
• The regular air purifiers that help humans breathe clean air, are now not enough to save us from the deadly microbes, contaminating the air currently.
• So in an attempt to help us breathe cleaner air, safe from deadly microbes, AiRTH- in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and IIT Bombay, has created an anti-microbial air purifier. The company claims that this air purifier can deactivate microbes in real-time, even those that are of the size of the coronavirus.
• Scientists at IIT Kanpur have claimed that they have created an air purifier that can kill black fungus along with other viruses present in the air.
• It has been claimed that this air purifier can filter and deactivate microbes contaminating the air in an area of 600 square yards.
• This invention will especially be useful to sanitise hospitals where currently UV rays and chemical sprays are being used. Unlike the traditional methods, this air purifier can be used even when hospital premises are full of patients as it is non-lethal.
• Experts say that black fungus can reach inside the human body via mouth and nose and in light of the recent fatality of this fungal infection, this air purifier seems useful. It is different from normal air purifiers that only catch the microbes on a filter, from where these microbes can escape at any time.
• The anti-microbial air purifier works in three steps- firstly, it deactivates the microbes as they enter the purifier. Then, these microbes are captured in a special filter and lastly, the microbes are deactivated for a second time. This three-step process ensures that a live virus doesn’t escape and contaminate the air again.
• AiRTH claims that this air purifier has been tested in two different labs and the test results from both places have proved that it can deactivate particles equal to the size of the coronavirus. With these positive test result, the company further assures that this anti-microbial air purifier can keep the air around us 99% clean.

Source: Science Moniter (RSTV)