A new type of Far-UVC ultraviolet light kills almost all germs and could help prevent the next pandemic, researchers say.
This lighting is safe for humans and took less than five minutes to reduce the number of germs carried indoors by more than 98%, according to the researchers who created it.
Therefore, this lighting could be installed on the ceiling and help purify the air and stop the transmission of diseases like Covid or the flu – and by extension help prevent similar pandemics in the future.
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David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an author of the study, said Far-UVC rapidly reduces the amount of active microbes in indoor air to almost zero, making indoor air as safe as outdoor air. He added that using this lighting in indoor spaces where many people gather could prevent the next potential pandemic.
The technology is called “Far-UVC light” and according to its description in the Scientific Reports paper, it effectively inactivates an airborne pathogen in a room-sized chamber.
Dr Brenner said that this lighting is easy and cheap to install and does not require people to change their behavior and habits to prevent a future pandemic, since it is completely safe.
Additionally, there is a similar lighting technology, UVC, which has been known to purify the air for decades and is used in some specific cases to kill germs such as bacteria and viruses. However, it is not considered safe for indoor use as it can affect people's skin and eyes.
On the contrary, researchers examining the possibilities of Far-UVC lighting found that it has the same effect as UVC but without harming people who may also be in the spaces where it is used.
It has a shorter wavelength, so it can't enter human skin or eye cells. But it's just as good at killing bacteria and viruses, due to their small size, according to researchers.
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In recent years, scientists have successfully tested Far-UVC in smaller experiments, using it in experimental chambers to see how it would affect both microbes and humans. The new research is the first application of the technology in full-size rooms that mimic how it would be used in our daily lives.
To achieve this, the scientists used a room-sized chamber and ventilated it about as well as a typical home or office, changing the air about three times an hour. They then sprayed the room with a bacteria spray and turned on the Far-UVC lamps.
In five minutes, more than 98% of airborne pathogens were inactivated. Even if new germs were sprayed into the room, their numbers remained low. The cleaning effect was as if the room had been ventilated 184 times an hour. Typically, it is only possible to achieve the equivalent of about 20 air changes at best.
Kenneth Wood, a lecturer in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St. Andrews and senior author of the study, said their tests produced spectacular results, far exceeding what is possible with ventilation alone. Far-UVC technology could allow indoor spaces to be as safe as if you were out on the golf course on a cool day.
The researchers noted that Far-UVC technology is useful because it would work even when viruses mutate – it would work just as well on future variants of Covid, for example, as well as other diseases that have yet to be identified. Also, germs would not become resistant over time in the same way that they do with vaccines or drugs.
Source: independent.co.uk
