Taza Aya’s Direct Air Treatment Module (DATM) helps prevent airborne transmission of infectious diseases more effectively than traditional methods. 

The risks from airborne biological contaminants come from two factors: how well they can be transported in air, and how infectious they are.

Most approaches to airborne pathogen protection filter particles out of the air, which only addresses the transportation factor. Other methods inactivate contaminants over a period of exposure (such as UV treatment). Taza Aya’s DATM both removes and inactivates airborne contaminants — and does it almost instantly.

The DATM is being developed for two application spaces: a wearable device and a device for integration into building-scale heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

“The non-thermal plasma technology being commercialized by [Taza Aya]…would’ve saved us $2 million in repopulation costs, and up to $10 million in losses due to poor herd health….It was able to provide an alternative to vaccines that are largely ineffective.” — Pork producer in Michigan

Combustion flames are thermal plasmas that are routinely used for sterilization. Like combustion flames, non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) produce energetic, highly reactive but also short-lived molecules. Unlike combustion flames, NTPs:

NTPs can be used for indirect sterilization. At high power, NTPs generate ozone, which is applied to air or water for disinfecting and sterilizing — much like adding bleach to water for cleaning purposes. However, this method requires minutes of exposure to be effective.

Taza Aya is using NTPs to directly inactivate airborne pathogens. The DATM operates under low power, which produces very little ozone. Instead, the non-thermal plasma produces powerful radicals — unstable chemical molecules that are highly reactive but also short-lived. These unstable molecules are more potent agents for directly inactivating viruses. The DATM briefly exposes viruses and bacteria directly to the highly reactive radicals while also removing larger particles that may also carry viruses and bacteria. 

In a miniaturized format, the DATM can provide high volumes of plasma-treated air that act as a barrier to airborne pathogens for the wearer, but with far less obstruction and discomfort than N95 masks.

In a large-scale HVAC format, the DATM can supplement or replace conventional particle filters.  Compared to recent HEPA filter performance tests, a lab-scale DATM with a 70X smaller form factor and tested at 4.5X higher air flow rates demonstrated similar reductions in infectious airborne virus concentrations. 

Taza Aya has developed a testbed HVAC device that operates under the same principle. The device could be placed alongside the air handler or within the air ducts of a building or residence. We demonstrated in vitro performance on a virus (bacteriophage MS2) that is understood to be hardier than PRRS, influenza, or SARS-CoV-2. 

HEPA filters are not designed to kill viruses and most building ventilation systems would need substantial upgrades to accommodate them. By comparison, the advantages of the Taza Aya DATM include:

• Inactivates airborne viruses, regardless of size
• Drop-in solution that does not require extensive system upgrades 
• Lower periodic maintenance costs

“We’ve been intrigued with your tech. This is a hot area to be in.” —Research Director for the largest operator of filtered swine barns

The DATM wearable device provides a stream of plasma-treated air that protects the wearer’s breathing zone from harmful viruses and bacteria. 

Contaminated air is drawn through an intake and passes through the non-thermal plasma in the DATM, where airborne pathogens undergo removal and plasma-treatment processes before the air is then ejected as a focused stream encircling the face of the wearer, like a shower. The wearer breathes only DATM-treated air, as the focused stream is strong enough to prevent intrusion of any contaminated ambient air. 

The DATM wearable device would free users to eat at restaurants, exercise, visit the dentist, and verbally communicate without the obstruction of a conventional face mask. The advantages far exceed mere function — the psychological and social benefits to mask-free living can’t be quantified.

Wearable devices represent a new application space for Taza Aya. The QuickFire Invisible Shield Challenge award will enable us to take the original building-scale DATM and miniaturize it to a scale suitable for use as a wearable over the course of the award period, starting in 2021.