Tiny yet power-packed, a little dynamo resides at the core of Plasmacluster Ion technology. Our Sharp air purifier review zeroes in on the enriched 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 Synopsis

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 (liquid, gas, solid), plasma is gaining recognition as the fourth state. 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. Other water molecules in the air cluster around the hydrogen ions and oxygen ions forming the distinctive and stable Plasmacluster Ions. Plasmacluster Ions colliding with pathogens serve as the catalyst to form hydroxyl radicals, which is extremely reactive and highly unstable. Such a mercurial make-up causes hydroxyl radicals to quickly interact with hydrogen atoms on the surface mebranes of pathogens. The result; a disabled pathogen and a harmless by-product, water. A perfect solution! But is it fact or fiction?

Plasmacluster Ion – Science Fiction or Scientific Fact?

A serious Sharp air purifier review should not ignore the insecapable question – are Plasmacluster Ions science fiction or fact? In common with many other nanotechnology products, Plasmacluster Ions are invisible to the human eye. Complicating the problem for individuals who use air purifiers is the lack of means to authenticate the claims. Individuals really have no alternative but to base their decisions on tests results of Plasmacluster Ion applications. Efficacy tests (in laboratory settings) and efficiency tests (in real-world scenarios) are the 2 experiments that are conducted.

Sharp, as an established corporation with a successful track record has anticipated these concerns. For this purpose, Sharp introduced and continues to promote 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. Scientific data generated from such collaborative efforts becomes the foundation of new products from Sharp. The definition of effectiveness has been fine-tuned into efficacy and efficiency. Between 2000 and July 2009, it focused on efficacy testing. Since then, there has been a shift towards efficiency testing in collaboration with business users of Plasmacluster Ion technology.

Plasmacluster Ion – Certification at Molecular Levels

Delving deep for this Sharp air purifier review, we believe that it is Sharp’s strategy to focus on efficacy and efficiency testing to become the leader. 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.

That the pathogenic cell DNA is unaffected by Plasmacluster Ions which do not puncture the cell membrane is of great importance. As DNA destruction is not relied upon to inactivate pathogens, unlike some other competing air purification technologies, a clear advantage is claimed. The danger to users of other air purification technologies being exposed to cancer from DNA damage was implied.

Plasmacluster Ion – Efficacy Testing

This current Sharp air purifier review spotlights the efficacy tests on pathogens conducted by various organizations on behalf of 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. Of the virulent pathogens, the most significant are the lethal SARS virus, the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus, a variant of the potentially fatal H1N1 virus which re-appeared in Mexico in 2009 and MRSA, the resistant bacterium that causes devastating infections in hospitalized patients.

The coxsackie virus which causes the common cold and the polio virus are also inactivated by Plasmacluster Ions. Also annihilated are candida, pseudomonas, serrata bacterium, sarcina, escherichia coli, bacillus subtilis, micrococcus, enterococcus, white staphylococcus and staphylococcus. Allergens, pollen, mites, have also been effectively eradicated together with fungi like aspergillus, alternaria, cladosporium, mucor, penicillium and stachybotrys.

The following organizations worked with Sharp:

- Asthma Society of Canada

- University of Lübeck, Germany

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

- Harvard School of Public Health, USA

- Retroscreen Virology, Ltd., London, UK

- Seoul University, Korea

- Ishikawa Health Service Association, Japan

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

- Kitasato Research Center of Environmental Sciences, Japan

- Kitasato Institute, Medical Center Hospital, Japan

- Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China

The last reported efficacy test was reported on 27 July 2009 involving the Osaka City University Medical School validating the inhibitory power of Plasmacluster Ions on allergic reactions caused by mite allergens or mite dust (mite feces and dead mites).

To conclude our Sharp air purifier review concerning 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. GLP status has to be renewed every 3 years. A critical piece of information yet it is often disregarded by the critics of air purification technologies and academic marketing. Curiously, the fact that test data generated by a GLP laboratory can be readily peer reviewed by fellow scientists is also disregarded. The much-vaunted scientific peer review is the last frontier to be conquered before the world will change its perceptions of the air purification industry and with it, Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion technology!

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