Tel Aviv research: 99.9% of Covid-19 virus in 30 seconds with UV LED


Ultraviolet radiation is a common method of killing bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers at Tel Aviv University have proven that the novel coronavirus, SARS-Cavi-2, can be done effectively, quickly and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) at certain frequencies. It is very easy to kill a coronavirus using an LED bulb that emits ultraviolet light, ‘said Prof. Dr. Krishna Kumar, head of the Mechanical Mechanical Engineering program at Tel Aviv University Joram Gerchman and Prof. Michel Mendelboim. He said UV-LED bulbs take less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of coronaviruses. This is the first study of its kind in the world. An article about this was published earlier this month Photochemistry and Photobiology Journal B: Biology.

Jerusalem Post I have written many times about Mama. She presented this summer at the Boris Mints Institute 2020 research conference on building a 30-meter “green wall” at the university, to create a sustainable ecosystem for waste, energy and water. The wall is meant to serve as a living laboratory for analyzing the uses of gray-water (wastewater from sinks, showers, baths and washing machines) that absorb carbon dioxide, as well as the effects on heat transfer and energy dissipation production in older buildings. Prevalent in settings. Early in the coronavirus crisis, his research team developed a means to produce Israeli, low-cost, decentralized, non-polluting ethanol – and there alcohol-based hand sanitizers – from plant-based wastes, such as municipal and agricultural. LEDs are available in a wide range of wavelengths known as A, B and C, Mama explained.

Prof. Hadas Mamane (Credit: Tel Aviv University)Prof. Hadas Mamane (Credit: Tel Aviv University)

UV-A has wavelengths in the range of 315 nanometers (nm) to 400 nm. UV-B, also known as medium wave light, has a wavelength of 280-315 nm; The wavelength of UV-C is 200-280 nm. UV-A is excreted by the sun (and weaker than artificial sources such as tanning beds) and UV-B and C have some human benefits, such as vitamin composition. D, but there are also those that cause sunburn and, in some cases, skin cancer. UV-B and C radiation never really reach humans because these rays are absorbed by the Earth’s ozone layer. These ultraviolet wavelengths, which Tel Aviv researchers are investigating, are particularly effective in disinfection using UV-LED bulbs. “We know, for example, that medical staff don’t have time to disinfect themselves, say, computer keyboards and other surfaces in hospitals – and the result is infection and quarantine,” Mama said. “Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, ventilation. Can be installed in the system and air conditioner, for example, and the sucked air can be disinfected and mitted out of the room. “He added,” We are also developing together. A transparent coating with a Northwestern University scientist can be sprayed or sprayed on the surface and it can kill the virus using non-hazardous light LEDs, which provides another application for regular LEDs. “In her team’s research, they managed to kill viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs – 555 nm vs. robotic systems, or install the necessary adjustments and bulbs in air conditioning, vacuum and water systems and effectively clean large surfaces and spaces there. “Our research has professional and social implications,” Mama said. He added that his team had been working on UV-LEDs for a long time before the coronavirus. But when the Covid-19 came to the surface, they tried to see if they could shift their efforts to combat different communiviruses, studying the use of LEDs to kill corona at different frequencies. He said 285 nm LEDs are 15% to 30% less expensive and require a little more time to become effective. “Anything that can reduce costs can help implement,” he said. “UV LED has an advantage because it can be turned on and off instantly. Mama believes this is a technology in the future,” she said, adding that she expects it to be effective enough to become mainstream by 2025. LEDs have a great future, “he added.” Of course, as always, when it comes to ultraviolet radiation, people need to make it clear that it is dangerous to try to use this method to disinfect indoor surfaces. You need to know how to design and work with them so that you do not come into direct light. ”