Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 Using 275 nm UV-C LEDs through a Spherical Irradiation Box: Design, Characterization and Validation

Nicola Trivellin; Matteo Buffolo; Francesco Onelia; Alberto Pizzolato; Marco Barbato; Viviana Teresa Orlandi; Claudia Del Vecchio; Fabrizio Dughiero; Enrico Zanoni; Gaudenzio Meneghesso; Andrea Crisanti; Matteo Meneghini

doi:10.3390/ma14092315

Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 Using 275 nm UV-C LEDs through a Spherical Irradiation Box: Design, Characterization and Validation

Materials (Basel). 2021 Apr 29;14(9):2315. doi: 10.3390/ma14092315.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6A, 35131 Padova, Italy.
² Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6B, 35131 Padova, Italy.
³ Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via Gabelli 63, 35121 Padova, Italy.
⁴ LightCube SRL, Viale Navigazione Interna 51, 35129, Padova, Italy.
⁵ DBSV, University of Insubria, Via J.H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.

Abstract

We report on the design, characterization and validation of a spherical irradiation system for inactivating SARS-CoV-2, based on UV-C 275 nm LEDs. The system is designed to maximize irradiation intensity and uniformity and can be used for irradiating a volume of 18 L. To this aim: (i) several commercially available LEDs have been acquired and analyzed; (ii) a complete optical study has been carried out in order to optimize the efficacy of the system; (iii) the resulting prototype has been characterized optically and tested for the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 for different exposure times, doses and surface types; (iv) the result achieved and the efficacy of the prototype have been compared with similar devices based on different technologies. Results indicate that a 99.9% inactivation can be reached after 1 min of treatment with a dose of 83.1 J/m².

Keywords: COVID-19; LED; SARS-CoV-2; UVC; disinfection; inactivation; virucide.