EAGER: DECOMPOSING COVID-19 VIRUS USING THE DUAL ACTION OF MICROWAVES AND PLASMA

COVID-19大流行期间的医疗供应短缺导致对消毒医疗个人防护设备（PPE）的需求前所未有。微波和等离子体可以有效地杀灭微生物病原体，并可用于消毒被污染的医疗设备。该研究项目提出了一种探索性方法，以应对当前大流行病带来的一些挑战。研究人员将研究微波和等离子体的双重作用在低温下消毒被包膜病毒（如COVID-19）污染的PPE的有效性。如果成功的话，这个过程将有能力净化热敏材料（例如，面罩、手套和长袍），使它们经受具有受控强度和密度的微波辅助低温等离子体，以避免损害它们的结构完整性。拟议的消毒方法具有潜在的变革性，也可能激发社区如何使用和回收某些物品的根本性变化，以及应对当前COVID-19大流行之外的挑战。例如，美国疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）估计，每年与医疗保健相关的感染导致全球死亡的人数超过艾滋病，乳腺癌或车祸等其他事件。拟议的研究结果将显着有助于缓解这一问题，提出有效的技术消毒医疗设备。因此，它将对那些始终无法获得新鲜医疗用品的地理位置产生巨大的环境和经济影响，这项多学科研究将分析影响微波和等离子体在低温和非破坏性温度下对受污染PPE消毒机制的关键参数。将发展描述过模微波腔中电磁波和等离子体相互作用的方程的数值解。这些解决方案将被用来设计一个实验系统，适用于不同强度的微波和低温等离子体污染的标本。将建立一个高精度的优化系统来分析影响去污过程的参数。将使用甲型流感病毒测试所开发的系统在灭活包膜病毒（如COVID-19）方面的有效性。有效摧毁甲型流感病毒将保证该系统摧毁COVID-19的能力。微波和等离子体强度和暴露时间将发生变化，同时监测标本的温度、器械腔室中的湿度和病毒的活力。目的是确定微波和等离子体剂量、暴露时间、湿度和温度的有效组合，以摧毁病毒。所提出的方法与使用化学品的传统消毒方法相比具有几个优点，包括速度、重复使用方便、连续可用性、环境友好性和安全性。该研究可能会扩展到探索被其他病原体污染的消毒对象，如真菌细胞和细菌，以及包膜和非包膜病毒。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 medical-supply shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for disinfecting medical personal protective equipment (PPE). Microwaves and plasma can effectively inactivate microbial pathogens and may be used for disinfecting contaminated medical equipment. This research project presents an exploratory approach to address some of the challenges created by the current pandemic. The researchers will investigate the effectiveness of the dual action of microwaves and plasma in disinfecting PPE contaminated with enveloped viruses, such as the COVID-19, at low temperatures. If successful, this process will have the ability to decontaminate heat-sensitive materials (e.g., masks, gloves, and gowns) by subjecting them to microwave-assisted low-temperature plasma with controlled intensity and density to avoid compromising their structural integrity. The proposed disinfection approach is potentially transformative and may also inspire fundamental changes in how communities use and recycle certain objects, as well as address challenges beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year healthcare-associated infections kill more people worldwide than other incidents such as AIDS, breast cancer, or car accidents. The outcomes of the proposed research will significantly contribute to alleviating this problem by presenting effective techniques for disinfecting medical equipment. Thus, it will have tremendous environmental and economic impacts to geographical locations with limited consistent access to fresh medical supplies, e.g., rural communities in the U.S. and other developing countries.This multidisciplinary research will analyze key parameters affecting microwave and plasma disinfection mechanisms of contaminated PPE at low and nondestructive temperatures. Numerical solutions for equations describing electromagnetic-wave and plasma interactions in an overmoded microwave cavity will be developed. These solutions will be used to design an experimental system to apply variable intensities of microwaves and low-temperature plasma to contaminated specimens. An optimized system will be built with high precision to analyze the parameters affecting the decontamination process. The effectiveness of the developed system in inactivating enveloped viruses, such as COVID-19, will be tested using influenza A viruses. The effective destruction of influenza A virus would guarantee the system's capability to destroy COVID-19. The microwave and plasma intensities and exposure time will be varied while the specimen's temperature, humidity in the device chamber, and the viability of the virus are being monitored. The aim is to determine the effective combination of microwave and plasma doses, exposure time, humidity, and temperature that can destroy the virus. The proposed approach has several advantages over conventional disinfection approaches using chemicals, including speed, convenience for repeated use, continuous availability, environmental friendliness, and safety. The research can potentially be extended to explore disinfecting objects contaminated with other pathogens such as fungal cells and bacteria, in addition to enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.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.