Highly infectious microbial and viral diseases are a major challenge to global health and economic stability. In addition to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) noted that the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria outside of medical settings was a cause for significant concern. One strategy for combatting viral and bacterial infections is the implementation of disinfection measures. Among the different chemical, thermal, and irradiation methods, disinfection based on exposure to ultraviolet (UV-C) light has gained favor due to its efficacy against a broad range of microbial and viral agents in a variety of environments. However, UV-C systems come in two categories: expensive and weak hand-held systems designed for small area applications or large commercial systems for medical settings. Both systems are currently challenging to procure. This research effort will design, fabricate, and validate a UV-C system in collaboration with USC Keck Hospital in Los Angeles that can be home built from easy-to-procure components. The research findings will be disseminated through online postings of the designs, podcasts, and an established online conference, as well as through peer-reviewed journals. PhD students and undergraduate researchers will be involved in the collaborative research effort.
The UV-C wavelength band covers 100nm-280nm, and it directly overlaps with the peak absorption of DNA and RNA (~260nm). Upon UV-C absorption, the pyrimidines in the RNA or DNA are converted to pyrimidine (6–4) pyrimidone photoproducts and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. If the population of dimers is sufficiently high, transcription errors occur, ultimately resulting in inactivation of the bacteria or virus. UV-C is recognized as a universal disinfection method for bacteria, and its effectiveness in viral disinfection is not correlated with virus size, but with pyrimidine concentration. Thus, given the universality of UV-C as a disinfection method, designing and validating a system that can be constructed from easy-to-procure components has significant societal impact. The present work plans to leverage the recent rise of open-source electronics and commercially available components to design and build a portable UV-C disinfection system. Two different sources of UV-C will be explored as well as several different enclosure designs and control systems. This work includes both theoretical and experimental efforts. The final system will be validated using both bacterial and viral agents to ensure that the system meets the needs of the medical community and broader society. Given the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the community, designs for easy to build disinfection systems will have significant impact globally.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
