The rapidly increasing coronavirus cases are alarming for authorities as it seems like there is no way to control it. Still, researchers are working on developing medicines and tools that could help to prevent new cases. The new ‘catch and kill’ air filter is one such product that can immediately kill the coronavirus.
According to its developers, this filter locates and traps the virus and destroys it before it infects any person. This new air filter is developed as a collaboration between a Texas Center for Superconductivity, Medistar, and others. This filter design and its work are explained in a research paper, recently published in the journal Materials Today Physics.
This study is based on the data obtained from tests conducted at the Galveston National Laboratory. These tests found that there is a 99.8% chance of this virus being killed while passing through this ‘catch and kill’ air filter for once.
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This filter is made with nickel which is heated on at least 200 degrees Celsius. The tests also show that this filter can kill anthrax spores by 99.9%. So not only coronavirus but this new air filter can help against a number of other pathogens as well.
This ‘catch and kill’ air filter can be used in workplaces and all public places i.e. airports, libraries, schools to control the new coronavirus cases. This ability of ‘catch and kill’ air filter to prevent and kill coronavirus may be exceptionally helpful for ending the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mediastar, one of the collaborators in this air filter development is proposing to create a desktop model that would be more accessible and easier to possess especially for an office setup.
Medistar contacted the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH) to work on this amazing idea which might help controlling coronavirus transmission.
The principal researchers and authors of this study are Luo Yu from the UH Department of Physics, Dr. Garrett K. Peel from Medistar, and Dr. Faisal Cheema from the UH College of Medicine.
Now that it is known that coronavirus can stay in the air for up to three hours, having a filter that may remove it sounds like a good control strategy. Various parts of the world have ended the lockdowns and allowed to re-open the local businesses. In this situation, ‘catch and kill’ air filter will be a significant help in preventing new cases.
The virus is least likely to live on more than 70 degrees which is why this filter is designed as a heated filter, which increases the temperature to 200 C making sure that coronavirus is killed right away.
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A prototype of this filter is created in a workshop and tested at the University of Texas labs. Before sending it to the Galveston lab, these scientists made sure that it contains all requirements to be fit for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning in enclosed spaces.
This ‘catch and kill’ air filter may act as a first-line prevention tool in the environmental transmission of the deadly coronavirus. And it may also be the first one in new technological tools to provide protection against the ongoing pandemic.
