Sharp Air Purifier with Plasmacluster Technology Found Effective Against Coronavirus

SHARP Business Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary of SHARP Corporation Japan, known worldwide for its unique technology products and solutions, announced that Sharp Air purifiers with Plasmacluster technology (PCI) has been found vastly effective against airborne novel Coronavirus. The advanced study was conducted at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, a world-renowned research institute in the United States.

In this airborne virus study, a highly concentrated solution of the Omicron BA.1 variant, a mutated strain of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), was sprayed into a 102L test box in the form of an aerosol followed by releasing Plasmacluster ions (ion density approximately 25,000 pcs/cm³) to verify the effectiveness of reducing airborne virus. The results showed a drastic reduction of the virus infectious titer (99.3% reduction after 15 minutes of exposure), indicating that Plasmacluster technology is vastly effective against mutated and highly infectious airborne Omicron variants.

Commenting on the development, Narita Osamu, Managing Director, SHARP Business Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd said, “Over the past years, Sharp has introduced multiple product solutions and partnered with academic institutions to better understand and address the challenges posed by the pandemic. The latest study conducted by Columbia University Irving Medical Center is part of one such academic partnership where the results have reaffirmed the important contribution of Plasmacluster technology in addressing the impact of the pandemic. With the growing numbers of mutations of novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that have surfaced over the past two years, we believe that the study results provide a new direction to address the human safety concerns.”

“Plasmacluster technology is useful to reduce the risk of infection in real spaces including office, home, medical facilities, and vehicles. Our Plasmacluster devices have evolved in effectiveness with the capability to generate increasingly higher concentrations of ions and we’re constantly working to further improve the products to effectively contribute to the fight against the Coronavirus” he added.

Professor Moriya Tsuji, Columbia University Irving Medical Center said, “Since 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread explosively around the world and become the scourge of humanity. It still continues to spread while continuously mutating to evade our immune system, thus posing an unceasing threat to our society. In addition to vaccination, it is desirable to employ multi-faceted protective measures to prevent widespread infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is our strong belief that the application of this Plasmacluster technology as a countermeasure against respiratory virus infections should hold great promise to our society in the future.”

Since the introduction in the year 2000 of the first air purifiers equipped with Plasmacluster ion technology, Sharp's proprietary air purification technology has been found effective against virus, bacteria, mold and odor. Sharp has sold over 100 million products worldwide across 23 categories, equipped with Plasmacluster ion technology, including air purifiers, air conditioners, refrigerators, and additional product categories. PCI technology has been tested and certified by over 35 global scientific institutions including IIT Delhi.

Using Plasmacluster technology, negatively charged oxygen and positively charged hydrogen ions are simultaneously discharged into the atmosphere, and the positive and negative ions instantly connect with airborne germs, fungus, viruses, and allergens. By degrading proteins on their surface through a chemical process, this air filtration method reduces bacterial activity. More than 13 testing institutions outside of Japan have proven the effectiveness of Plasmacluster technology in suppressing the action of harmful substances such as airborne Serratia bacteria which is a source of hospital-acquired infections (Dr. Melvin W. First, US), airborne influenza viruses (Institute Pasteur, Vietnam), and clinical effectiveness in reducing the risk of tuberculosis infections in tuberculosis hospitals (National Center of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Georgia).

Results of Airborne Coronavirus Verification Test conducted by Columbia University, USA

The test results have confirmed that the number of infectious viruses was reduced by more than 99% following the exposure to Plasmacluster ions.

Airborne SARS-CoV-2 test results (after 15 minutes)