— Panasonic’s Air Conditioner with nanoe X Can Effectively Inhibit the Novel Coronavirus

Air conditioning is a great achievement in the development of human civilization. The role of air conditioners is not only to provide a comfortable living and working environment, but also to support human health. The latter role has been increasingly recognized along with gradually emerging social issues.

On January 14, 2021, the inhibitory effect on the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 of an air conditioner equipped with Panasonic’s nanoe X was certified by Texcell, a global contract research organization based in France. Texcell verified that the inhibitory effect of nanoe X on the novel coronavirus reached 91.4% in a space with a volume of 6.7 m3 in eight hours.

Panasonic started research on nanoe technology in 1997, with air purification in the living environment as a focus. nanoe is a technology that collects invisible moisture in the air and applies a high voltage to it to produce hydroxyl radicals contained in water. Hydroxyl radicals inhibit the growth of pollutants such as bacteria and viruses. However, hydroxyl radicals are very unstable, being strongly oxidative and highly reactive, and hence have a short lifespan. By containing them in tiny water particles, nanoe has a long lifespan and can spread over long distances.

Panasonic has evolved nanoe technology to develop nanoe X, which can generate 4.8 trillion hydroxyl radicals per second, which is about 10 times that of nanoe, and introduced it to the market in 2016. A large amount of hydroxyl radicals can spread to every corner of the room and fill the room with nanoe X. Therefore, it can exert an inhibitory effect not only on airborne viruses but also on adhered viruses. Its efficacy against adhered viruses is a major feature of nanoe X.

Infection routes of the novel coronavirus include droplet infection and contact infection. In the case of droplet infection, COVID-19 is caused by airborne viruses that are released from the mouth or nose of an infected person who sneezes, talks loudly, etc., while in the case of contact infection, COVID-19 is caused via an object with adhered viruses that many people touch, such as a doorknob. The lifespan of adhered viruses is relatively long: generally, they survive for a period of two to three days and up to seven days. nanoe X, which exerts an inhibitory effect not only on airborne viruses but also on adhered viruses, can be said to be effective in the inhibition of the novel coronavirus.

context of the pandemic in 2020, Panasonic has been conducting demonstration experiments on the inhibitory effect of nanoe X on the novel coronavirus. The mechanism of inhibition of the virus is as follows: nanoe X reaches the virus, and hydroxyl radicals denature lipids and proteins which are components of the viral envelopes, thus inhibiting the virus.

Panasonic initially verified in collaboration with Texcell the inhibitory effect of nanoe X against the novel coronavirus in a small test space of 45 liters using a nanoe X generator, in September 2020. For further investigation, Panasonic conducted a more challenging test using an air conditioner with nanoe X in a larger test space of 6.7 m3. This time, gauze saturated with SARS-CoV-2 solution was exposed to an air conditioner equipped with nanoe X at a distance of 0.7 meters in the room. Even under these difficult circumstances, Texcell has now certified that the nanoe X does exert a 91.4% inhibitory effect in eight hours and a 99.7% inhibitory effect in 24 hours. This testing was carried out in a closed laboratory environment and was not designed to assess its efficacy in uncontrolled living spaces.

Panasonic has also verified nanoe X’s effectiveness in a variety of areas, including the inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and other viruses, and allergens, along with the breaking down of PM 2.5 components that have adverse effects on the human body.

This time, as the inhibitory effect of the novel coronavirus by the air conditioner equipped with nanoe X in a larger space of 6.7 m3 was demonstrated, Panasonic believes that it can provide a better environment using nanoe X. For example, users can inhibit the novel coronavirus by operating their air conditioners with nanoe X installed at their homes, shops, etc. In addition to controlling the air conditioner from nearby, users can operate it remotely via a wireless LAN and Panasonic Comfort Cloud app. Users can select cooling plus purifying operation or purifying operation alone with a fan mode that has low energy consumption. Moreover, the titanium nanoe X device needs no maintenance. With such energy efficiency, low operational costs, and air purifying ability, nanoe X technology can keep the inside air clean and fresh for 24 hours a day.

With nanoe X, which now has a verified inhibiting effect on the novel coronavirus, Panasonic wants to support people living in this new era and make their lives more comfortable.

Quoted from “Jarn”