SBIR-STTR Award

Anti-viral Active Air-Purifying Respirator with Photocatalytic Microreactor to Prevent Airborne Diseases
Award last edited on: 4/21/2023

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIOSH
Total Award Amount
$243,500
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
103
Principal Investigator
Arif Rahman

Company Information

Hawaii Innovation Laboratory Inc

1919 Citron Street Unit 308
Honolulu, HI 96826
   (808) 308-3275
   N/A
   www.hawaiiinnovationlab.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 01
County: Honolulu

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43OH012358-01
Start Date: 9/1/2022    Completed: 8/31/2023
Phase I year
2022
Phase I Amount
$243,500
The potential for an epidemic or pandemic caused by a high-impact respiratory pathogen is increasing. Studiesprior to the COVID-19 outbreak show that the frequency of outbreaks of newly emerging diseases rose, which has exacerbated since the pandemic started. Respiratory protective masks are used whenever airborne contaminants such as dust, fumes, smoke, and mists are present in the air. The contaminants also includeairborne bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Currently, most commercially available untethered protective masks aredesigned for surgical or industrial safety and may provide adequate protection from airborne contaminants butdo so through particle filtering. Therefore, most masks do not kill the pathogens to protect the wearers. Hence,while using an active respirator, the filtered pathogens, which are alive and infectious, may enter the respiratorytract overtime or spread by touch. The current active respirators are bulky, heavy, and designed for 2-4 hours ofuse. In brief, the protective masks are not designed for prolonged daily use by untrained users. Until the outbreakof COVID-19, the necessity of an anti-pathogenic wearable respirator was not as significant as it is now. ThisCOVID-19 has exposed our lack of preparedness in providing a safe working environment for the frontlineworkers during the respiratory pandemic. Most current protective respirators address only part of the desiredsolution. A working solution needs to combine all the critical requirements, such as high filtration (≥ 99%) fornanometer-scale particles, pathogens-neutralization, moisture dissipation, eco-friendliness, and comfortableprolonged use. The proposed R&D effort addresses a wearable anti-pathogenic respirator's critical need forprolonged use by trained or untrained users. We propose designing and developing an active, untethered, anti-pathogen full-face breathing mask with an integrated photocatalytic microreactor that can neutralize allmicroorganisms, including viruses SARS-CoV-2. Although the proposed system contains all the components ofa portable respirator, the components are miniaturized and integrated into a full-face mask. Hence, the systemis referred to as a full-face mask in this proposal. The proposed full-face mask intakes surrounding air filters outparticles as small as 100 nm (size of a single SARS-CoV-2 viral particle), passes the air through an integratedphotocatalytic microreactor killing all the microorganisms, and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), and supplyclean air to the user. The mask also works as a defense against the threat of contamination of ventilation systemsby bioterrorism. The mask is completely untethered and designed to run for 8-10 hours with a single charge. Theactive-powered mask can save the wearer from airborne pathogens while maintaining visibility and comfort.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
Project Narrative This COVID-19 has exposed our lack of preparedness in providing a safe working environment for the frontline workers during the respiratory pandemic. The proposed R&D effort addresses a wearable anti-pathogenic respirator's critical need for prolonged use by trained or untrained users. We propose designing and developing an active, untethered, anti-pathogen respirator mask with an integrated photocatalytic microreactor that can neutralize all microorganisms, including viruses SARS-CoV-2.

Project Terms:

Phase II

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