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Profs' research may play role in solving anthrax problem
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Anthrax - and other biological and chemical warfare contaminants - are on the minds of Americans everywhere these days. But none more so than Old Dominion professors Karl Schoenbach and Mounir Laroussi, whose labs are the sites for a possible solution to this vexing problem. Schoenbach, eminent scholar of electrical engineering, and Laroussi, electrical engineering research professor, have been at the international forefront of using cold plasma, ultraviolet light, and high-voltage, low-heat electricity in the battle against biological and chemical contaminants. In fact, the pair's work was the focus of a Business Week article in January. The recent anthrax contaminations of mail rooms in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., put the two in the media spotlight again last week as an anxious nation searches for a solution. "We have developed several methods which can be applied for bacterial decontamination," Schoenbach said. "Other research groups are working on complementary techniques. After what happened Sept. 11, everybody wants to do something to help. Now is the time to get together for synergy." Cold plasma is the fourth state of matter, a mixture of positively and negatively charged atomic particles and molecules. Because of its relatively low temperature, cold plasma can destroy bacteria on skin, clothes or other materials without burning them. Laroussi, who received the prestigious 2nd Millennium Graduate of the Last Decade medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society for his work, has been conducting cold plasma research at Old Dominion's Applied Research Center for several years. He has also done research with Fred Dobbs, assistant professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, that has shown that ultraviolet light can penetrate spore casings (anthrax travels via spores) and scramble the contents. At the university's Physical Electronics Research Institute, Schoenbach's work with cold plasma, high-voltage electricity and ultraviolet light also offers positive results. "If you apply high voltages to cells, you modify them," said Schoenbach, who uses the same method to fight cancer through research with colleagues at Eastern Virginia Medical School. The researchers appear to be close to helping protect Americans from biological terrorism. Schoenbach and Laroussi say that, with the right funding, it would take a year to build a system big enough to filter contaminants out of the air in large buildings and at least two years to build a system for water sources. They, along with College of Engineering and Technology Dean William Swart, envision a type of Manhattan Project - an enormous effort involving vast resources and the best scientific minds - to fight chemical and biological terrorism that would be spearheaded by Old Dominion. Swart has begun contacting members of Congress and hopes to bring together experts from industry, academia and government. "These are not solutions we can apply tomorrow," Schoenbach noted. "But this threat won't go away." |
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