A BENGALURU-BASED DEEP-TECH STARTUP KILLS GERMS IN MID-AIR

A deep-tech startup is addressing airborne infection risks through research-driven air decontamination technology.

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Air in hospitals is meant to protect lives, yet it often becomes a silent carrier of infections. While most air purifiers focus on trapping dust and particles, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup has developed a device that destroys airborne microbes as they pass through it. Founded in 2014 by scientists Dr Janani Venkatraman, Dr Arindam Ghatak, and Dr Santanu Datta, Biomoneta Research Private Limited seeks to make clinically proven, science-backed air safety a standard of care in environments that protect vulnerable lives.

The startup commercialises its innovation through products such as Avata Rx, embedding the ZeB-box platform into devices designed for specific, high-need environments rather than offering it as a standalone unit.

Dr Janani explains that the novelty of the ZeB-box platform lies in integrating three critical elements into a single, intelligent system. At the core are proprietary microbicidal surfaces that inactivate microorganisms upon contact.

This is supported by a carefully engineered airflow architecture that guides airborne microbes towards these active surfaces, preventing them from slipping past, as often happens in conventional systems. The third component is precision power electronics that generate a finely tuned electric field designed around the natural behaviour of microbes.

Since all pathogens—whether bacteria, viruses, or fungi—carry surface charges, ZeB-box leverages this universal trait by generating an electric field that pulls microbes out of the air and into the microbicidal surface, where they are destroyed in real time. This approach differentiates ZeB-box from HEPA filters that merely trap particles, UV systems that struggle under real-world airflow conditions, and plasma- or ozone-based technologies that risk generating harmful byproducts.