Guelph-based company is developing air filter that kills COVID 19 indoors

Zentek patent pending ZenGUARD technology, first applied to surgical face masks at the height of the pandemic, is now on the verge of making indoor air quality purer and safer by coating the air filters already used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, in both residential and industrial buildings.

The research is being conducted through an internship program funded by Mitacs. Zentek is working with several Mitacs interns from universities across Canada, including the University of Guelph. The compound behind ZenGUARD was originally invented by Mitacs intern Dr. Seyyedarash Haddadi, a researcher at University of British Columbia Okanagan.

“The magic of this coating is that it’s incredibly safe, it effectively kills all viral and bacterial pathogens, and it’s green,” said Greg Fenton, CEO, Zentek. “We now know that COVID-19 and other pathogens spread primarily through aerosolized droplets when we cough or sneeze, and that when those droplets get drawn into HVAC systems, they can quickly spread to a much wider area. It became very apparent to us that if we could put our coating on filters to trap and kill these pathogens like we were already doing with surgical masks, we would have a wonderful solution for indoor air quality.”

ZenGUARD technology raised $33 million in funding in January 2022 and is currently completing phase two testing through the Innovative Solutions Canada program.