Development of Economical and Effective Ultraviolet (UVC) Irradiation Solutions and Equipment for Rapid Decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 on N95 Respirators

N95 disposable respirator masks are of particular importance to the Covid-19 pandemic. The high cost and limited supply of N95 disposable respirators promote research and safe and effective methods of reusing medical masks. The CDC of USA has announced that ultraviolet (UVC) irradiation inactivates SARS-CoV-2, virus, and other microorganisms known to culture on N95, as well as the results affecting mask fit and filterability. In this study, we analyze and evaluate the pathogen inactivation mechanism and the performance of respirators after treatment and perfect the method of ultraviolet irradiation (UVC) to help inactivate of SARS-CoV-2. At the same time, the research team successfully designed, fabricated and tested a semi-automatic system with UVC capacity 0.15 mW/cm2 at 220 nm that inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (3 log reduction) substances analogues of viruses, and other microorganisms grown on N95. The research results aim to commercialize the system technology (1) to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the our application of UVC irradiation at the appropriate wavelength and effective dose, and (2) maintain the suitability and N95 filter rate. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.