UV-C radiation can inactivate coronavirus: research

Signify, a global brand in professional and consumer lighting, and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University in the US have conducted research that validates the effectiveness of Signify’s UV-C light sources on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Since the start of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Griffiths, associate professor of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine, and his team have been working on developing tools to support scientific advancement in this field. 

During their research they have treated inoculated material with different doses of UV-C radiation coming from a Signify light source and assessed the inactivation capacity under various conditions. The team applied a dose of 5mJ/cm2, resulting in a reduction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus of 99 percent in 6 seconds. Based on the data, it was determined that a dose of 22mJ/cm2 will result in a reduction of 99.9999 percent in 25 seconds.

"Our test results show that above a specific dose of UV-C radiation, viruses were completely inactivated: In a matter of seconds we could no longer detect any virus," said Dr. Griffiths.