Bengaluru : Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed ]air filters that are effective against air pollutants and germs. The filters were made in collaboration with AiRTH, a firm supported by IIT Kanpur. The creators are Suryasarathi Bose and Kaushik Chatterjee, who belong to the Department of Materials Engineering at IISc, and Ravi Kaushik, the founder of AiRTH.

The team developed the air filters using technology involving specific ingredients usually found in green tea. These ingredients are able to rupture germs cells by binding themselves to specific sites along germ cell walls. The filters were tested in an NABL-accredited laboratory (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and were found to be 99.24% efficient. The filters were also discovered to be able to deactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The research done by the development team is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India.

The filters are currently being supplied to residences, commercial buildings, hospitals and diagnostic labs and are being installed in air conditioners (ACs), air purifiers and central air conditioners. The development team believes that their air filter will be useful in combating air pollution and help in stopping diseases like COVID-19 to spread from person to person.

The reason these air filters were created was due to normal air filters becoming breeding areas for germs through continuous usage. This occurs since air filters are able to trap dust, particles and microbes in the air as they are made of porous materials and once breeding of the germs begins, people in close proximity will be infected. Air pollution has shown to be harmful to human health by having connections to anxiety, organ damage, diseases involving the heart and lungs, etc.

In an event commemorating 10 years of BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council), the air filter was chosen for product launch as part of ‘75 Biotech Startup Products in the 75th Year of Independence’.

Read about the new air filters here: https://iisc.ac.in/germ-killing-air-filters-using-green-coating-for-acs-and-air-purifiers/

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