US, Israeli Researchers Go for Simplicity in Fighting Coronavirus (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

Dr. Christopher J. Arnusch tells The Media Line that existing material for water filters was converted for use in trapping airborne pathogens

Researchers in Israel and the United States have found a simple way to convert material used for filtering microbes and viruses in water for use in cleansing the air of infectious particles.

The method adapts the porousness of the material, called laser-induced graphene (LIG), for use with air. The LIG filter is then combined with a low-voltage, and together they capture and destroy infectious, micron-sized particles in a way described by researchers as both highly scalable and cost-effective.

The LIG process was invented by researchers at Houston’s Rice University and converted for use in air filtration after researchers from Beersheba’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) showed its antibacterial effects.

Air filtration products containing LIG are now being manufactured by Israel-based LIGC Application Ltd.

The Media Line spoke with Dr. Christopher J. Arnusch of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at BGU, who was a member of the joint conversion team.