Dangerous airborne viruses are rendered harmless on the fly when exposed to energetic, charged fragments of air molecules, according to research conducted at the University of Michigan. [Source: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.
Notably, during these tests, the researchers also tracked the amount of viral genome that was present in the air. In this way, Clack and his team were able to determine that more than 99% of the air sterilizing effect was due to inactivating the virus that was present, with the remainder of the effect due to filtering the virus from the airstream.
"The results tell us that non-thermal plasma treatment is very effective at inactivating airborne viruses," said Krista Wigginton, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. "There are limited technologies for air disinfection, so this is an important finding."
This parallel approach—combining filtration and inactivation of airborne pathogens—could become a more efficient way of providing sterile air than technologies used today, such as filtration and ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet irradiation can’t sterilize as quickly, as thoroughly or as compactly as non-thermal plasma, the researchers noted.