A little dynamo best describes the heart of Plasmacluster Ion technology. Our Sharp air purifier review will feature the ultra-high concentration Plasmacluster Ion generator. At only 57mm by 28.5mm by 15.5mm, its size is dwarfed by its importance of producing the essential reactive agents without which the air purifier is completely useless.

Overview 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 solid, liquid and gas. Containing electrons that roam free from any bond to atoms and molecules, it exists as a partially ionized gaseous state. Positive hydrogen ions and negative oxygen ions are formed from the decomposition of water molecules in the plasma. Distinct and stable Plasmacluster Ions are created when atmospheric water molecules form clusters around the hydrogen and oxygen ions. Upon contact with the surfaces of pathogens, Plasmacluster Ions are transformed into hydroxyl radicals which are highly reactive but unstable. The quirky nature of hydroxyl radicals made them ideal for speedy bonding with hydrogen atoms lining the surface membranes of pathogens. The result; a disabled pathogen and a harmless by-product, water. What an ideal solution! But is it fact or fiction?

Plasmacluster Ion – Science Fiction or Scientific Fact?

An honest Sharp air purifier review must resolve a fundamental doubt – are Plasmacluster Ions fiction or scientific fact? Plasmacluster Ions, like many other emerging nanotechnology products, are totally invisible to the human eye. Complicating the problem for individuals who use air purifiers is the lack of means to authenticate the claims. 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).

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. Based upon cooperation between Sharp and well-known academic institutions, scientific experiments are conducted to verify the claims in relation to Plasmacluster Ion technology. From the joint efforts, scientific data generated provides a foundation for Sharp’s new products. Sharp has fine-tuned the definition of effectiveness into efficacy and efficiency. Between 2000 and July 2009, it focused on efficacy testing. Taking centrestage now is efficiency testing which is carried out at end user locations where Plasmacluster Ion technology is employed.

Plasmacluster Ion – Certification at Molecular Levels

Digging deeper 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.

Another significant finding was that Plasmacluster Ions do not penetrate the pathogen cell membrane to impact the cell DNA. This is claimed as an advantage over other air purification technologies like those using ultra-violet light which rely on DNA destruction to work. Without quite saying so, the dangers of cancer from DNA annihilation is clearly alluded to for users of other air purification technologies.

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. 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.

The coxsackie virus which causes the common cold and the polio virus are also inactivated by Plasmacluster Ions. Also inactivated are staphylococcus, white staphylococcus, enterococcus, micrococcus, escherichia coli, serrata bacterium, candida, sarcina, pseudomonas and bacillus subtilis. A whole range of fungi (alternaria, aspergillus, cladosporium, mucor, penicillium, stachybotrys) are also effectively destroyed together with pollen, mites and other allergens.

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

- 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 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).

In summarizing our Sharp air purifier review on 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 is an international standard that must be renewed every three years. This is an important factor that is often ignored by critics of air purification technologies and academic marketing. Another ignored fact is that the work of a GLP laboratory can definitely 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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