What is UV-C Light
Within the range of Ultraviolet light from 100-280 nano meters exists a range of UV that is medically categorized as germicidal. Meaning any light in this range has the ability to kill or disable bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19.
How does it work?
When Ultraviolet light enters a cell, it disables the cell by adding duplicate bonds to critical nucleic acids and proteins, rendering the organism inactive or unable to reproduce.
Sources of Information
National Institutes of Health: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus
Notable Papers
COVID-19 Specific
IUVA Fact Sheet on UV Disinfection for COVID-19: http://iuva.org/COVID-19
UV Air Disinfection
- CIE Report: Ultraviolet Air Disinfection: http://files.cie.co.at/cie155-2003%20(free%20copy%20March%202020).pdf
- The History of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation for Air Disinfection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789813/
- UVC LED Irradiation Effectively Inactivates Aerosolized Viruses, Bacteria, and Fungi in a Chamber-Type Air Disinfection System: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29959245
- Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21058-w
UV Water Sterilization
- Moving from the traditional paradigm of pathogen inactivation to controlling antibiotic resistance in water – Role of ultraviolet irradiation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719303328?via%3Dihub
- Evaluation survey of microbial disinfection methods in UV-LED water treatment systems: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718352379?via%3Dihub
Sub 220nm UV-C
- 207-nm UV Light—A Promising Tool for Safe Low-Cost Reduction of Surgical Site Infections: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0138418
- The efficacy of vacuum-ultraviolet light disinfection of some common environmental pathogens: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32046660
Safety of UV Radiation
- CIE Report: UV-C Photocarcinogenesis Risks from Germicidal Lamps http://files.cie.co.at/cie187-2010%20(free%20copy%20March%202020).pdf