Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases
paperAuthors
Credibility Rating
Gold standard. Rigorous peer review, high editorial standards, and strong institutional reputation.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Nature
Scientific study on far-UVC light technology for pathogen inactivation; relevant to AI safety as biosecurity research addressing pandemic risks that could inform AI governance priorities and resource allocation in dual-use technology oversight.
Paper Details
Metadata
Summary
This study demonstrates that far-UVC light (207-222 nm) can efficiently inactivate airborne viruses and bacteria without harming human skin or eyes, unlike conventional UVC light. The researchers show that a low dose of 2 mJ/cm² of 222-nm light inactivates over 95% of aerosolized H1N1 influenza virus. The key advantage of far-UVC is its strong absorbance in biological materials prevents penetration of human skin and eye tissue, while its wavelength is still short enough to penetrate and inactivate micrometer-sized or smaller pathogens. The authors propose continuous low-dose far-UVC light in indoor public spaces as a safe, inexpensive tool to reduce airborne disease transmission.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Bioweapons Risk | Risk | 91.0 |
Cached Content Preview
Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases | Scientific Reports
Skip to main content
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Advertisement
Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases
Download PDF
Download PDF
Subjects
Antiviral agents
Influenza virus
An Author Correction to this article was published on 07 September 2021
This article has been updated
Abstract
Airborne-mediated microbial diseases such as influenza and tuberculosis represent major public health challenges. A direct approach to prevent airborne transmission is inactivation of airborne pathogens, and the airborne antimicrobial potential of UVC ultraviolet light has long been established; however, its widespread use in public settings is limited because conventional UVC light sources are both carcinogenic and cataractogenic. By contrast, we have previously shown that far-UVC light (207–222 nm) efficiently inactivates bacteria without harm to exposed mammalian skin. This is because, due to its strong absorbance in biological materials, far-UVC light cannot penetrate even the outer (non living) layers of human skin or eye; however, because bacteria and viruses are of micrometer or smaller dimensions, far-UVC can penetrate and inactivate them. We show for the first time that far-UVC efficiently inactivates airborne aerosolized viruses, with a very low dose of 2 mJ/cm 2 of 222-nm light inactivating >95% of aerosolized H1N1 influenza virus. Continuous very low dose-rate far-UVC light in indoor public locations is a promising, safe and inexpensive tool to reduce the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases.
Similar content being viewed by others
Far-UVC (222 nm) efficiently inactivates an airborne pathogen in a room-sized chamber
Article
Open access
23 March 2022
Improved estimates of 222 nm far-UVC susceptibility for aerosolized human coronavirus via a valida
... (truncated, 45 KB total)c0fc46bf88cbfbd2 | Stable ID: ZjA3ZGYyNm