CONTACT: Jim Sliwa WASHINGTON, DC – January 31, 2013 – A new
device called a soft x-ray electrostatic precipitator protected
immunocompromised mice from airborne pathogenic bacteria,
viruses, ultrafine particles, and allergens, according to a
paper published online ahead of print in the journal Applied and
Environmental Microbiology. This device, known for short as a
SXC ESP, is highly versatile, with multiple potential uses, and
Washington University is working on licensing the technology.
“Small particles are difficult to remove, and our device
overcomes that barrier,” says Pratim Biswas of Washington
University, St. Louis. The device not only captures particles
with a high level of efficiency that has never before been
achieved; it also inactivates them. Even bioterror agents are
blocked and completely inactivated, says Biswas. The range of
potential uses includes indoor protection of susceptible
populations, such as people with respiratory illness or
inhalation-induced allergies, and young children; prote