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Plasma jets may kill coronavirus in seconds: Study

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Nov 12, 2020, 02:31 PM IST
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FILE PHOTO Photograph:(Reuters)

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Plasma, which is one of the four basic states of matter, can be produced by heating a stable gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field

In what could be a major breakthrough in the battle against novel coronavirus, a study has suggested that plasma jets could eliminate the deadly virus present on surfaces such as metal, leather, and plastic in less than 30 seconds. 

Plasma, which is one of the four basic states of matter, can be produced by heating a stable gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.

The modelling study conducted in June found strains of the Covid-19 on surfaces like metal, leather, and plastic were killed in less than 30 seconds after treatment with argon-fed, cold atmospheric plasma.

The research, published in the journal Physics of Fluids and conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), used atmospheric plasma jet that was built with the help of a 3-D printer.

The plasma jet was then used to spray it on the aforementioned surfaces with SARS-CoV-2 strains and included cardboard and different varieties of leather used in basketball, baseball and football. 

It eliminated coronavirus on all the six surfaces in less than six minutes and in most cases, the deadly virus was killed after 30 seconds. 

Further testing showed the virus was finished in similar times on cotton from face masks.

The study's author Richard E. Wirz said that the results show great potential for the use of plasma in breaking the Covid-19's transmission cycle.