The coronavirus can be destroyed efficiently and quickly using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs), according to researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU).

This is the first study conducted on the disinfection efficiency of UV-LED irradiation at different wavelengths or frequencies on a coronavirus.

The researchers speculated that the UV-LED technology will soon be available for private and commercial use.

The study was led by Hadas Mamane, Head of the Environmental Engineering Program at TAU’s School of Mechanical Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering.

The article was published in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology .

Mamane said: “The entire world is currently looking for effective solutions to disinfect the coronavirus. The problem is that in order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall, or plane by chemical spraying, you need physical manpower; and in order for the spraying to be effective, you have to give the chemical time to act on the surface.”

Mamane added: “Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilise the air sucked in and then emitted into the room.”

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Quick destruction

“We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light,” she explained. “We killed the viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs, which consume little energy and do not contain mercury like regular bulbs. Our research has commercial and societal implications, given the possibility of using such LED bulbs in all areas of our lives, safely and quickly,” the professor further noted.

For the research, the researchers tested the optimal wavelength for killing the coronavirus and found that a length of 285 nm was almost as efficient in disinfecting the virus as a wavelength of 265 nm. This requires less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9 per cent of the coronaviruses.

This result is significant because the cost of 285 nm LED bulbs are much lower than that of 265 nm bulbs, and the former is also more readily available.

Mamane believes that this technology will be available for use in the near future.

It is important to note that it is very dangerous to try to use this method to disinfect surfaces inside homes. To be fully effective, a system must be designed so that a person is not directly exposed to the light, the researchers cautioned.

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