PlasmaSol Corp. makes news in war against anthrax
An environmental technology business incubated at Stevens Institute of Technology, PlasmaSol Corporation is receiving wide attention because of the effectiveness shown by its "cold plasma" technology in destroying bacterial spores closely akin to those of the anthrax bacillus.
The post-9/11 terror-mailings have aroused intense interest in PlasmaSol's non-thermal plasma technology (NTP) for use in protecting civilian populations from bio-chemical threats. A number of federal agencies and corporations have contacted PlasmaSol about fast-track development of a plasma reactor that can be installed in parallel to existing HVAC air filtration systems in public buildings. PlasmaSol is responding with designs for scaled-up prototypes that can be custom-installed for in-place testing.
Another potential use for PlasmaSol's technology being closely studied is the decontamination of surfaces of various dimensions, as in machines used by the U.S. Postal Service to process envelopes. NTP can also be applied to decontaminate individual pieces of mail, office walls or desktops or other areas.
Developed by Stevens' scientists and sometimes referred to as a "cold flame" or "the fourth state of matter," non-thermal plasma is visible as a glowing, energized gas. Similar in composition to a lightning bolt, though cool, the gas can be focused to effect radical chemical changes at room temperature. The active agents in NTP are highly agitated electrons that produce low-level ultraviolet radiation and create chemically reactive "free radicals." Bombarded by a plasma jet or field, a bacterium or spore is penetrated and killed by free radicals, which then bond with and reduce to trace elements the remaining mass.
The technology has many applications for environmental clean-up and pollution prevention, including the destruction of harmful emissions from automobiles and industrial smokestacks. With increased interest in the highly sterilizing effects of NTP, PlasmaSol has redoubled its efforts to develop anti-microbial applications, both for aerospace and public health and security purposes.
Casting another vote of confidence in PlasmaSol Corp.'s microbe-killing application of non-thermal plasma, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has just awarded the company a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of $600,000.
The PlasmaSol Phase I SBIR study for NASA, completed before September 11, 2001, proved the effectiveness of NTP in destroying hardy microbes such as Bacillus subtilis, a cousin to anthrax and a frequent stand-in for that bacillus in military lab experiments. The aim of the research was to judge the effectiveness of NTP in decontaminating probes sent to the Martian surface, to avoid false readings of microbial life on that planet. The highly successful results of those tests prompted other government agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Defense and the Postal Service, to take a close look at PlasmaSol's NTP technology in the aftermath of the anthrax mailings.
For Phase II, PlasmaSol will pursue several objectives, including the development of a commercial-quality prototype for testing on varied surfaces; the study of effectiveness rates for plasma sterilization versus other technologies; investigation of the plasma jet on surfaces of interest to NASA; and the investigation of NTP for cleaning surfaces.
In recent weeks, too, PlasmaSol's anti-microbe technology has garnered local and national media attention, including coverage in the Christian Science Monitor, the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger, and on several New York-Metro area television news reports. Previous coverage has appeared in Discover magazine, Business News New Jersey, and New Jersey Tech News.
PlasmaSol also has signed major environmental contracts with the U.S. Army and Navy and with Alcoa for the use of non-thermal plasma for the cleaning of surfaces and soil and the elimination of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) produced by military and industrial activities.
PlasmaSol Corp. holds an exclusive license from Stevens Institute of Technology to commercialize the environmental applications of NTP. The company began as a venture initiated at Stevens' Technology Ventures Incubator, a government-academic partnership that develops spin-off high-tech business ventures. Three of the core management team, the CEO, COO, and CTO, are Stevens alumni.
For more information on PlasmaSol, please visit www.plasmasol.com.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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