Sharp Air Purifier Review – The Efficacy of Plasmacluster Ion Technology

Tiny yet power-packed, a little dynamo resides at the core of Plasmacluster Ion technology. Our Sharp air purifier review will now highlight the enhanced high concentration Plasmacluster Ion generator. Whilst it measures only 57mm by 28.5mm by 15.5mm, this generator is responsible for the reactive agents, without which the air purifier is worthless.

Plasmacluster Ion Technology Overview

By the application of positive and negative voltages to discharge electrodes in the Plasmacluster Ion generator, plasma is formed. The fourth state of matter, plasma now ranks with the three more well-known states of liquid, gas, solid. Existing in a partially ionized gaseous form, plasma is a mixture of atoms, molecules and free electrons that are not bound to either. The disintegration of naturally occurring water molecules in the plasma lead to the formation of negative oxygen ions and positive hydrogen ions. Water molecules in the room air form clusters around the hydrogen ions and oxygen ions; hence creating the distinguishable and stable Plasmacluster Ions. Any contact by Plasmacluster Ions with pathogens leads to the instantaneous formation of the highly unstable and reactive hydroxyl radical. These characteristics cause the hydroxyl radical to bond readily with hydrogen atoms on pathogen surface membranes. Incredibly, the product is a deactivated pathogen and a harmless by-product, water. A perfect solution! But is it for real?

Plasmacluster Ion – Science Fiction or Scientific Fact?

An honest Sharp air purifier review has to deal with a basic issue – are Plasmacluster Ions fact or fiction? As with many other products emerging from the field of nanotechnology, Plasmacluster Ions are invisible to the naked eye. And the individual air purifier user has no means to verify its authenticity. Accordingly, individuals can only depend on the findings of tests conducted 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. This is a collaborative effort between Sharp and academia with the objective of reputable institutions testing and producing scientific data to confirm the claims made with regard to Plasmacluster Ions. Scientific data produced by academia becomes the basis for introducing new products by Sharp. Sharp has fine-tuned the definition of effectiveness into efficacy and efficiency. The years between 2000 and July 2009 has seen Sharp focusing on efficacy testing. Efficiency testing in conjunction with corporate end users of Plasmacluster Ion technology is the current focus.

Plasmacluster Ion – Certification at Molecular Levels

Digging deeper for this Sharp air purifier review, we noted that Sharp is going all out in the industry by leading in efficacy and efficiency testing. Sharp announced on 17 November 2004 the scientific findings of Professor Gerhard Artmann of the Department of Cell Biophysics and Bioengineering, University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Through the use of an electron microscope, Professor Artmann (a cellular engineering expert) verified that Plasmacluster Ions damaged more than 60 proteins on the surface cell membranes of pathogens leading to inactivation of both viruses and bacteria.

Another significant finding was that Plasmacluster Ions do not penetrate the pathogen cell membrane to impact the cell DNA. As DNA destruction is not relied upon to inactivate pathogens, unlike some other competing air purification technologies, a clear advantage is claimed. The flipside of this claim is that possible interference with DNA may have unintended cancer implications to users of other technologies.

Plasmacluster Ion – Efficacy Tests

This current Sharp air purifier review condenses in one place the efficacy tests on pathogens conducted by Sharp. Via tests conducted between September 2000 to July 2009 under the umbrella of academic marketing, research scientists have demonstrated the efficacy of Plasmacluster Ions in destroying at least 28 types of airborne pathogens. Quite impressively, the list of 28 includes potentially deadly viruses like the SARS virus, the H5N1 bird flu virus, the H1N1 virus like the one that caused swine flu in 2009 and bacterium like the pernicious MRSA that infects hospitalized patients.

Other viruses which have been destroyed by Plasmacluster Ions include coxsackie virus (causes colds), feline coronavirus and polio virus. Equally susceptible have been bacteria like serrata bacterium, enterococcus, staphylococcus, sarcina, micrococcus, bacillus subtilis, pseudomonas, escherichia coli, white staphylococcus and candida. Pollen, allergens, mites are also effectively destroyed together with stachybotrys, penicillium, mucor, cladosporium, alternaria and aspergillus.

Organizations which worked with Sharp included the following:

- Ishikawa Health Service Association, Japan

- Kitasato Institute, Medical Center Hospital, Japan

- Kitasato Research Center of Environmental Sciences, Japan

- Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, Japan

- Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China

- Seoul University, Korea

- Asthma Society of Canada

- Harvard School of Public Health, USA

- CT&T, Aachen University of Applied Science, Germany

- University of Lübeck, Germany

- Retroscreen Virology, Ltd., London, UK

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).

To wrap up our Sharp air purifier review in relation to efficacy testing, we would highlight that a key factor is that they were conducted by organizations which have attained GLP (Good Laboratory Practices) status, an OECD guideline that attests the reliability of tests results produced. Renewable on a 3-year basis, GLP status is internationally recognized. This is an important factor that is often ignored by 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. Held in the highest esteem, the scientific peer review is the key missing link that will transform the world’s perceptions of air purifiers and Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion technology!

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