UB's bioblower closer to protecting soldiers from biological attack

Patent to issue on technology, which has passed US Department of Defense tests

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A powerful air sterilization technology developed at the University at Buffalo has killed every biological agent with which it has been challenged, including airborne spores, viruses and bacteria in independent tests conducted for the U.S. Department of Defense.

A prototype produced by Buffalo BioBlower Technologies LLC, a UB spin-off company, destroyed biological agents to a level of better than one part per million in an independent evaluation conducted over a period of four weeks by the Research Triangle Institute for the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Program for Chemical and Biological Defense Collective Protection.

In a related development, UB recently received a Notice of Allowance, indicating that a U.S. patent will issue soon covering the BioBlower technology.

“Everything from hospitals, first-responder units and postal facilities to government buildings and mass-transit systems could benefit enormously from the security and peace of mind generated by this device,” said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter. “Once again, our region is serving as a leader in technological development, and it is this labor and innovation that are benefiting people both locally and throughout our country.”

The positive outcomes in the independent evaluation indicate that BioBlower could, in the near future, be protecting soldiers from biological attack, according to James F. Garvey, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Chemistry in the UB College of Arts and Sciences and co-founder and chief technical officer of Buffalo BioBlower Technologies, with John Lordi, Ph.D., chief executive officer.

Lordi is a research professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. James D. Felske, Ph.D., and Joseph C. Mollendorf, Ph.D., professors in the same department, are co-inventors with Garvey and Lordi.

“This independent third-party validation of our technology was so exceptionally compelling that the military has now directed us to retrofit one of their existing platforms with a BioBlower as a technology demonstration,” Garvey said.

The military system now being retrofitted with BioBlower is used to inflate the hospital units and temporary shelters erected in the battlefield for command headquarters.

“We’re removing their current fan and replacing it with our electrical air pump, the BioBlower, which also will instantly kill any airborne biological agents on contact,” Garvey said.

Conventional technologies involve the use of HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters, which simply trap large airborne spores. These passive filters have to be regularly replaced and properly discarded, posing a further potential hazard to personnel, Garvey said. In addition, they provide little or no protection against airborne viruses.