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Small at heart but enormous in potential impact best describes Plasmacluster Ion technology which runs on a tiny dynamo. Our Sharp air purifier review continues with a focus on the intense high concentration Plasmacluster Ion generator. At only 57mm by 28.5mm by 15.5mm, it is small in relation to the air purifier but its role of producing the reactive agents is paramount.

Plasmacluster Ion Technology Overview

By the application of positive and negative voltages to discharge electrodes in the Plasmacluster Ion generator, plasma is formed. Plasma is recognized as the 4th state of matter after solid, liquid and gas. Plasma is a partly ionized fluid mixture of free electrons, atoms and moelcules. 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. Ultra reactive and extremely unstable hydroxyl radicals are created as soon as Plasmacluster Ions come into contact with any pathogens. With such volatile characteristics, the hydroxyl radicals rapidly bond with hydrogen atoms that are constituent parts of pathogen surface membrane. And the result; inactivated pathogens and a harmless by-product, water. An ideal solution! But is it fact or fiction?

Plasmacluster Ion – Science Fiction or Scientific Fact?

A reliable Sharp air purifier review has to resolve the most basic doubt – are Plasmacluster Ions fiction or fact? As with many other products emerging from the field of nanotechnology, Plasmacluster Ions are invisible to the naked eye. Compounding the issue, the individuals who use air purifiers have no means to validate 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.

Addressing these very real concerns of consumers instead of skirting the issue is testament to Sharp’s long track record of successes. To deal with this, Sharp introduced 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 generated from such collaborative efforts becomes the foundation of new products from Sharp. Sharp has fine-tuned the definition of effectiveness into efficacy and efficiency. Efficacy testing has been the focus from the year 2000 to July 2009. Since then, there has been a shift towards efficiency testing in collaboration with business users of Plasmacluster Ion technology.

Plasmacluster Ion – Verification at Atomic Levels

Seeking further for the purpose of this Sharp air purifier review, it became clear to us that Sharp firmly believes that the science in efficacy and efficiency testing will give them the industry lead. 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. Cellular engineering expert Professor Artmann used an electron microscope to demonstrate that Plasmacluster Ions destroyed at least 60 types of proteins on the cell membranes of bacteria and viruses.

Another significant finding was that Plasmacluster Ions do not penetrate the pathogen cell membrane to impact the cell DNA. This is highlighted as a clear advantage over any air purification technology that relies on DNA destruction to inactivate pathogens. The danger to users of other air purification technologies being exposed to cancer from DNA damage was implied.

Plasmacluster Ion – Efficacy Tests

This current Sharp air purifier review condenses in one place the efficacy tests on pathogens conducted by Sharp. Conducted over the years from September 2000 to July 2009, the tests have proven that Plasmacluster Ions are effective in removing 28 kinds of harmful airborne microorganisms. It is noteworthy that the list of 28 includes such notoriously harmful pathgoens like MRSA, a bacterium that infects hospitalized patients, and viruses like the SARS virus, the H5N1 avian flu virus and the H1N1 virus that caused many fatalities in Mexico in 2009.

The coxsackie virus which causes the common cold and the polio virus are also inactivated by Plasmacluster Ions. 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.

Many organizations, counting among them some prestigious names, worked with Sharp; including:

- 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).

To wrap up our Sharp air purifier review concerning efficacy testing, we note the importance of the GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), an OECD standard that lends weight to test results, status of the testing organizations. 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. Yet another overlooked fact is the possibility of scientifically peer reviewing the test results of a GLP laboratory. The venerated scientific peer review, we know, is the last missing link in the world of Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion technology and for that matter, all other air purification technologies!

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