Air purifier that kills H5N1 flu launched by British scientists
Scientists at UK-based Tri-Air Developments have developed an air purifier that kills colds and flu germs, including H5N1 bird flu, as well as MRSA and anthrax.
Unlike air filtration devices, the system simulates the production of fresh air to destroy airborne viruses and bacteria in minutes within private, work and public spaces, the company says.
With worldwide patents pending, the biotechnology unit combines three established decontamination technologies to overcome their inherent individual shortcomings: non-thermal plasma; ultraviolet catalysis; and 'open air factor'. This creates a fresh air environment that is lethal to viruses, including H5N1 - which, if a pandemic occurs, is has been forecast to cost US$2 trillion of global GDP, with mortality of 70 million people.
The purification unit has 99.9999 percent effectiveness in killing an airborne surrogate test virus present in less that five minutes, and Tri-Air says this is 100 times more effective than current meth-ods of decontamination.
The unit can be readily adapted for a range of domestic, commercial, medical and industrial applications. It can be incorporated within large ventilation systems for healthcare and for homeland security.
The unit creates an OAF which is rich in hydroxyl radicals, to destroy microbes including flu and cold viruses and bacteria, both in the air and on surface contact. Hydroxyl radicals are found naturally in abundance in outdoor fresh air, with high concentrations in forested mountain areas. When someone sneezes the particles of mucus ejected are full of viruses: the hydroxyl radicals from the unit condense onto these particles and rapidly destroy the viruses even in close human proximity.
The decontamination process occurs both within and outside the machine, to create a continual supply of hydroxyl radicals dispersed throughout the room.
Tri-Air Developments was co-founded by the UK's Buildings Research Establishment, with technology transfer specialists Inventa Partners and microbiologists at Promanade.