Sharp has just announced something of a breakthrough in the fight against the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

According to the Osaka-based company, they have just developed a device using the company's Plasmacluster technology that can kill coronavirus that's in the air.

In tests, it was found that the device was able to reduce the concentration of the virus in the air by up to 90 per cent in 30 seconds.

The test was conducted at Nagasaki University by some of Japan's leading experts in virology, Professor Jiro Yasuda, Professor Asuka Nanbo, and Professor Hironori Yoshiyama.

Plasmacluster technology purifies the air by releasing positive hydrogen ions and negative oxygen ions through plasma discharge.

The ions can then adhere to the virus and inhibit them by removing hydrogen from proteins through oxidisation.

According to Professor Yasuda, he believes that existing Sharp air purifiers with Plasmacluster technology would also be effective " to a certain degree " at killing the novel coronavirus.

However, the effectiveness would depend on the level of ion concentration that the purifier in question can generate.

While this is promising news, we have to remember that this research was conducted on a small scale and it is unclear at this point how effective this device would be in real-world situations.

Masahiro Okitsu, the head of Sharp's smart appliances division, said that the next step would be to conduct tests in environments that more accurately replicate real-world scenarios.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.