At the heart of Plasmacluster Ion technology is a tiny dynamo. Our Sharp air purifier review continues with a focus on the intense high concentration Plasmacluster Ion generator. Removing this tiny gadget, which measures only 57mm by 28.5mm by 15.5mm, would turn an air purifier into nothing but an electricity guzzler.
Plasmacluster Ion Technology Overview
Plasma is formed upon delivery of negative and positive voltages to the discharge electrodes in the Plasmacluster Ion generator. After the three well-known states of matter (solid, liquid and gas), plasma is gaining recognition as the fourth state. Containing electrons that roam free from any bond to atoms and molecules, it exists as a partially ionized gaseous state. Disintegration of water molecules that permeate plasma lead to the creation of negative ions (oxygen) and positive ions (hydrogen). Plasmacluster Ions, stable and distinguishable, are created when water molecules in the room air surround the oxygen ions and hydrogen ions in clusters. Ultra reactive and extremely unstable hydroxyl radicals are created as soon as Plasmacluster Ions come into contact with any pathogens. The volatile nature of hydroxyl radicals causes them to swiftly bond with hydrogen atoms on the outer membranes of pathogens. The result; a disabled pathogen and a harmless by-product, water. What an ideal solution! But is it for real?
Plasmacluster Ion – Fact or Science Fiction?
An honest Sharp air purifier review will not cast aside a crucial issue – are Plasmacluster Ions science fiction or scientific fact? Plasmacluster Ions, like many other emerging nanotechnology products, are totally invisible to the human eye. To complicate matters, individuals who use air purifiers have no scientific means to ascertain if the claims are genuine. There is really no choice but to depend on reported results of experiments with Plasmacluster Ions. This is done in 2 ways, in the laboratory (efficacy test) and in the real world (efficiency test).
An established corporate player with a long track record of successes, Sharp has anticipated these concerns. Developed almost into an art by Sharp is the concept of academic marketing. Working in conjunction with reputable academic institutions, Sharp subjects its claims regarding Plasmacluster Ions to the scrutiny of reputable scientists. The scientific data that is produced forms the basis for new Sharp products. Effectiveness has been further dissected into 2 separate categories, efficacy and efficiency. The years between 2000 and July 2009 has seen Sharp focusing on efficacy testing. Moving to center-stage currently is efficiency testing, typically conducted on the premises of business end users of Plasmacluster Ion technology.
Plasmacluster Ion – Verification at Atomic Levels
Delving deep for this Sharp air purifier review, we sense that Sharp may be cementing its lead in this controversial industry with its focus on efficacy and efficiency testing. On 17 November 2004, Sharp announced the results of studies by Professor Gerhard Artmann of the Department of Cell Biophysics and Bioengineering, University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Armed with an electron microscope, leading cellular engineering authority Professor Artmann confirmed that Plasmacluster Ions led to the destruction of more than 60 protein types on the cell membranes of viruses and bacteria, thereby inactivating them.
A finding of great significance was that the pathogens’ cell DNA is not affected by Plasmacluster Ions which do not pass through the surface membrane. This is claimed as an advantage over other air purification technologies like those using ultra-violet light which rely on DNA destruction to work. The risk of cancer from interference with DNA, possibly arising from the use of other air purification technologies, is alluded to with this claim.
Plasmacluster Ion – Efficacy Testing
This current Sharp air purifier review highlights the efficacy tests that Sharp has conducted, together with several organizations, on various pathogens. From September 2000 to July 2009, efficacy tests have proven that Plasmacluster Ions destroy 28 different kinds of harmful airborne pathogens. The most significant of pathogens are the deadly SARS virus, the virulent H5N1 avian flu virus, an earlier variant of the H1N1 virus which re-surfaced in Mexico in 2009 and MRSA, the notorious bacterium responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in hospital patients.
Among other viruses inactivated by Plasmacluster Ions are the polio virus, the coxsackie virus that afflicts one with the common cold and the feline coronavirus which infects cats. Also destroyed are bacteria like enterococcus, staphylococcus, white staphylococcus, micrococcus, serrata bacterium, sarcina, bacillus subtilis, escherichia coli, candida and pseudomonas. Mites, allergens and pollen have also been effectively dealt with together with fungi like cladosporium, penicillium, stachybotrys, alternaria, mucor and aspergillus.
Organizations which worked with Sharp included the following:
- Harvard School of Public Health, USA
- Retroscreen Virology, Ltd,London, UK
- Asthma Society of Canada
- University of Lübeck, Germany
- CT&T, Aachen University of Applied Science, Germany
- Seoul University, Korea
- Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China
- Ishikawa Health Service Association, Japan
- Kitasato Research Center of Environmental Sciences, Japan
- Kitasato Institute, Medical Center Hospital, Japan
- Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, Japan
The most recent test reported on 27 July 2009 was conducted by Osaka City University Medical School to validate the inhibitory effects of Plasmacluster Ions on allergic reactions caused by mite allergens or mite dust (mite feces and dead mites).
Wrapping up our Sharp air purifier review concerning efficacy testing, we emphasize the OECD GLP (Good Laboratory Practices) status of the testing organizations as this accords dependability to the test results. Renewable on a 3-year basis, GLP status is internationally recognized. A critical piece of information yet it is often disregarded by the critics of air purification technologies and academic marketing. Interestingly, that the scientific data from a GLP laboratory can be replicated for a scientific peer review is completely ignored. The highly-esteemed scientific peer review is the final missing link that will transform the air purification industry, including Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion technology!
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