Sharp Air Purifier Review – Plasmacluster Ion Technology Efficacy

Deceptively tiny is the little dynamo that powers the potentially far-reaching Plasmacluster Ion technology. Our Sharp air purifier review zeroes in on the enriched high concentration Plasmacluster Ion generator. Measuring only 57mm by 28.5mm by 15.5mm, the little gadget produces the critical reactive agents.

Synopsis of Plasmacluster Ion Technology

Plasma is generated when negative and positive voltages are directed at the discharge electrodes in the Plasmacluster Ion generator. Plasma is recognized as the 4th state of matter after liquid, gas, solid. A partly ionized gas-like state, it contains free electrons that are not bound to a molecule or atom. The disintegration of naturally occurring water molecules in the plasma lead to the formation of negative oxygen ions and positive hydrogen ions. Separately, water molecules in the air cluster around the oxygen and hydrogen ions, resulting in the distinctively stable Plasmacluster Ions being created. 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. The result; a disabled pathogen and a harmless by-product, water. Simply perfect! But is it real?

Plasmacluster Ion – Fact or Science Fiction?

A reliable Sharp air purifier review brush away the inevitable question – are Plasmacluster Ions science fiction or scientific fact? 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).

Anticipating these valid consumer concerns is testimony of the long track record of successes by Sharp. In this regard, Sharp has developed the art of academic marketing. In association with leading academic institutions, Sharp puts its claims for Plasmacluster Ions to the test by scientists. Scientific data produced by academia becomes the basis for introducing new products by Sharp. The definition of effectiveness has been fine-tuned 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 are convinced that Sharp believes that science will give them the lead; hence the 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. 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. That Plasmacluster Ions technology destroys pathogens without the need to impact their DNA is claimed as an advantage over other air purification technologies that work only with DNA annihilation. 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 spotlights the efficacy tests on pathogens conducted by various organizations on behalf of 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. 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 destroyed are bacteria like enterococcus, staphylococcus, white staphylococcus, micrococcus, serrata bacterium, sarcina, bacillus subtilis, escherichia coli, candida and pseudomonas. Allergens, mites, pollen, are effectively inactivated together with alternaria, stachybotrys, aspergillus, penicillium, cladosporium and mucor.

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

Osaka City University Medical School conducted the last reported efficacy test that validated the inhibitory properties of Plasmacluster Ions on allergic reactions caused by mite allergens (mite feces and dead mites).

Wrapping up our Sharp air purifier review in relation to 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. GLP status has to be renewed every 3 years. Absolutely valuable yet critics of air purification technologies and academic marketing choose to overlook this factor completely. Yet another critical factor that is worthy of mention is that surely the work of a GLP laboratory can be scientifically peer reviewed. The all-important scientific peer review, as we know, is the key missing piece in the puzzle of air purification technologies, including Plasmacluster Ion technology!

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