SBIR Phase I: Rapid disinfection using compact plasma reactors for COVID-19

这一小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是一种方便、有效、绿色和经济的消毒解决方案，用于被病原体污染的日常物品，特别是SARS-CoV-2。本项目将开发一种便携、紧凑、低功耗的臭氧消毒产品。所提出的解决方案将解决难以用传统方法处理的物品，例如擦拭、紫外线暴露和高压灭菌。此外，它不含长期有毒残留物，过量的臭氧转化为氧气。这将支持缓解社交距离的政策和应用，包括个人防护设备，如消毒口罩、手套、防护服、设备等，本SBIR第一阶段项目旨在开发一种方便、有效、绿色和经济的消毒装置，基于介质阻挡放电（DBD）产生的臭氧，以去除病原体污染。该解决方案使用嵌入式紧凑型等离子体反应器系统，从大气中原位产生臭氧，并同时将其分布在盒子内。这消除了对外部气罐或混合剂的需要。拟议的项目将推进有源等离子体模块（APM）-一种紧凑，节能的DBD发电设备。研究目标包括测试DBD等离子体对SARS冠状病毒-2，确定最佳的操作条件（暴露时间，臭氧浓度，表面体积比，输入功率），并测试常用的材料，如织物，乳胶等消毒，这需要设计DBD反应器的APM和他们的集成在一个封闭的系统，以及测试的SARS-CoV-2灭活在不同的操作条件下。该系统有望快速消灭SARS-CoV-2，同时克服传统消毒技术的局限性，如高温、材料不相容性和对阻塞表面的无效消毒。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a convenient, effective, green and economical disinfection solution for everyday items contaminated with pathogens, specifically SARS-CoV-2. This project will develop a portable, compact, and low-power disinfection product using ozone. The proposed solution will address items otherwise difficult to treat with conventional methods such as wipes, UV exposure, and autoclave. Furthermore, it is free of long-term toxic residuals, with excess ozone converted back to oxygen. This will support the mitigation of social distancing policies and applications include personal protection equipment such as disinfecting masks, gloves, suits, equipment, etc., as well as household items.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a convenient, effective, green and economical disinfection unit, based on Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) generated ozone, to remove pathogen contamination. The solution uses embedded compact plasma reactor systems to generate ozone in-situ from atmospheric air and simultaneously distributing it within the box. This eliminates the need for external gas tanks or mixing agents. The proposed project will advance the Active Plasma Module (APM) - a compact, energy-efficient DBD generation device. Research objectives include testing DBD plasma against SARS CoV-2, determining optimum operating conditions (exposure times, ozone concentrations, surface to volume ratios, input power), and testing disinfection on commonly used materials like fabric, latex, etc. This entails designing DBD reactors for APMs and for their integration in an enclosed system, as well as testing of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation under varying operating conditions. This system is expected to rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV-2 while overcoming limitations of conventional disinfection technologies like high temperatures, material incompatibility and ineffective disinfection of obstructed surfaces.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.