A team of researchers in Russia has apparently managed to come up with a new method of destroying dangerous pathogens, possibly even including the dreaded COVID-19 coronavirus, local newspaper Izvestia reports.
According to the media outlet, the scientists have produced a device that uses cold plasma in order to turn ordinary water into a liquid the researchers call "Magnaril" which is "lethal for small biological objects: fungi, bacteria and viruses".
The liquid's properties appear to be caused by the cold plasma treatment producing "active forms of oxygen and hypochlorous acid", the latter substance emerging due to trace amounts of sodium hypochlorite being present in chlorinated water.
"Science already knows that one tenth of a percent of this acid's salt in water prevents coronavirus' propagation", one of the scientists, Dmitry Balabolin, said. "And as the acid itself is much more active that its salt, one can assume that this liquid would destroy the pathogen rather than merely halting its spread".
The liquid can be used as a disinfectant which could either be applied to various surfaces or dispersed in the air; its estimated price is about $1.30 per 1,000 liters.
The newspaper points out, however, that it remains to be seen whether the researchers' invention would be effective against the particular strain of coronavirus that caused the ongoing global pandemic, as the team now moves to conduct the necessary tests.