Germicidal UV-C System Kills Airborne Pathogens

Rarified-environment technology uses ultraviolet (UV)-C light to kill 99.99% of airborne pathogens, creating ultraclean environments.

The NoviSphere (Elk Grove Village, IL, USA) PE 254 is a cost-effective, high-performance UV pathogen-eradication system that uses fully contained and sealed 254nm UV-C lamps and proprietary baffling technology to kill up to 99.99% of airborne viruses, bacteria, and mold spores. Extensive independent testing has confirmed it also eradicates 99.99% of an aerosol coronavirus strain (HuCov229E), a single-stranded RNA virus that is similar to the COVID-19 strain that causes respiratory illnesses in humans. Further testing is planned to verify 99.9999999% eradication (one part per billion).

The system removes all pathogens in the air, as well as other contaminants, via a variable speed control, that continuously provides up to four complete air changes per hour in a room of an average size. The compact system can be used in virtually any large public setting, including (but not limited to), hospitals, schools, warehouses, manufacturing plants, hospitality, mass transit centers, sports facilities, and a range of industrial and commercial settings.

“At NoviSphere, our mission is to deliver confidence and safety to customers in their communities, workplaces, and businesses. Rarified environments we enable through our technologies are pathogen and particulate free; essentially, a magnitude better than today’s stringent ultraclean standards,” said Paul Lockhart, CEO of NoviSphere. “As a former astronaut entrusted with some of our nation’s most critical assets, I can think of no endeavor more important than what we are embarking on at NoviSphere.”

“Published papers in Aerosol Science & Technology show it is particularly effective against single-stranded RNA viruses,” said Chris Hogan, PhD, of the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, USA), who conducted the testing. “Coronaviruses, and more specifically, SARS-CoV-2, are single-stranded RNA viruses and would be highly susceptible to UV-C activation. Sealed, ducted UV-C sources with flow rates above 10 CFM are an effective approach.”

UVC light in the 254 nm wavelength induces the formation of pyrimidine dimmers from thymine and cytosine; these dimers in turn cause disruptions in microbial DNA, making genetic replication impossible, destroying the organisms or rendering them unable to reproduce. Intense UV-C light also has a proven track record of virus inactivation in aerosols.

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