Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation for Disinfecting N95 Masks

The need for UV Disinfection: A sudden rise in the demand for N95 masks as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), has been widely recognized among the general public during this COVID-19 pandemic. This unexpected demand has resulted in a limited supply of equipment. The need of the hour suggests disinfecting and reusing disposable N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs). In this context, Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is considered an effective adjunct. Though it is not a stand-alone technology, this could be a method for respiratory disinfection as it has corroborated effectiveness in inactivating an extensive group of pathogens including coronavirus. Germicidal UV typically engages mercury-based lamps operating at 254nm, the energy at which strongly absorbed by nucleic acids, resulting in damaging RNA and DNA molecules in pathogens preventing their further growth and function. Moreover, the irradiation level of UVGI inactivating those pathogens does not hamper the fit and filtration characteristics of N95 FFRs. As per the literature, in the range of 0.5-950J/cm2, FFR fit performance is at 90-100% passing rate after 3 cycles depending on model whereas exposures as low as 2-5mJ/cm2 are capable of inactivating coronaviruses on surfaces. Thus, though proven to be an efficient method, UVGI could be used to effectively disinfect disposable respirators for reuse but the maximum number of disinfection cycles will depend on the respirator model and the UVGI dose required to inactivate the pathogen. Simulating the performance of your UV System: The design method of UV systems needs some questions to be answered before starting the design: How much irradiance do we need to kill bacteria? How many UV sources do we need? What power should they have? Where should we place them? Simulation Tools like ANSYS SPEOS help designers to efficiently answer these questions. Besides, the ray-tracing capabilities of the tool also help in calculating accurately radiometric distribution in UVGI Devices with different surface reflectivities and lamp configurations. Apart from Radiometric studies, Structural Integrity of the respirators is one of the major concerns & studies show a noticeable decrease in structural integrity at lower doses. In conclusion, there are so many works of literature which suggests UVGI can be used for respiratory disinfection, though the maximum number of disinfection cycle will be limited by the respirator model and UVGI doses. Author Profile: Mr. Ankush Sharma, (Application Engineer at CADFEM India) Mr. Ankush Sharma is an Application Engineer in the domain of optical designing and Simulation. With the educational background of Photonics and Optical system design and his works in the development of free-form lenses for illuminators and luminaries, He continues to support the general lighting industry with his expertise.