Dr. J. Gary Eden from the University of Illinois has developed air-fed microplasma devices and arrays that can be used for water and surface disinfection.
The new devices generate spatially uniform plasmas in air and lead to the production of radicals that are lethal to microorganisms, such as E. coli and Giardia. Their biofilm deactivation properties can be used for a variety of water and surface disinfection purposes.
Previously, devices generating plasmas directly in air needed to use a carrier gas, such as helium or argon, which limited the applicability of that technology to home, hospital, and industrial environments. This new invention uses solely room air, which allows for a reduction of the size and the cost of the system.