Construction and validation of an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system using locally available components

Eric Schnell; Elham Karamooz; Melanie J. Harriff; Jane E. Yates; Christopher Pfeiffer; Stephen M. Smith

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255123

Construction and validation of an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system using locally available components

Eric Schnell
, Elham Karamooz
, Melanie J. Harriff
, Jane E. Yates
, Christopher Pfeiffer
, Stephen M. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, is responsible for a global pandemic characterized by high transmissibility and morbidity. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of contracting COVID-19, but this risk has been mitigated through the use of personal protective equipment such as N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs). At times the high demand for FFRs has exceeded supply, placing HCWs at increased exposure risk. Effective FFR decontamination of many FFR models using ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has been well-described, and could maintain respiratory protection for HCWs in the face of supply line shortages. Here, we detail the construction of an ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) device using previously existing components available at our institution. We provide data on UV-C dosage delivered with our version of this device, provide information on how users can validate the UV-C dose delivered in similarly constructed systems, and describe a simple, novel methodology to test its germicidal effectiveness using in-house reagents and equipment. As similar components are readily available in many hospitals and industrial facilities, we provide recommendations on the local construction of these systems, as well as guidance and strategies towards successful institutional implementation of FFR decontamination.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	e0255123
Journal	PloS one
Volume	16
Issue number	July
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255123
State	Published - Jul 1 2021

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge grant support by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Merit Review Awards I01-BX004938(ES), I01-CX001562 (MH), I01-BX002547 (SMS), a Department of Defense CDMRP Award W81XWH-18-1-0598 (ES), NIH NINDS 1R21-NS102948 (Koerner/ES), NIH NIGMS R01-GM134110 (SMS), NIH R01-AI129976 (MH) and 1R21-AI151079-01 (EK).

Funders	Funder number
Author National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health The Bev Hartig Huntington's Disease Foundation National Institutes of Health	R01-AI129976, 1R21-AI151079-01
U.S. Department of Defense	W81XWH-18-1-0598
National Institute of General Medical Sciences	R01-GM134110
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke	1R21-NS102948
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs	I01BX004938
Office of Research and Development Clinical Research and Development Program
Health Services Research and Development
Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development, VA Office of Research and Development	I01-BX002547, I01-CX001562

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

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10.1371/journal.pone.0255123

Cite this

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title = "Construction and validation of an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system using locally available components",

abstract = "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, is responsible for a global pandemic characterized by high transmissibility and morbidity. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of contracting COVID-19, but this risk has been mitigated through the use of personal protective equipment such as N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs). At times the high demand for FFRs has exceeded supply, placing HCWs at increased exposure risk. Effective FFR decontamination of many FFR models using ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has been well-described, and could maintain respiratory protection for HCWs in the face of supply line shortages. Here, we detail the construction of an ultraviolet-C germicidal irradiation (UVGI) device using previously existing components available at our institution. We provide data on UV-C dosage delivered with our version of this device, provide information on how users can validate the UV-C dose delivered in similarly constructed systems, and describe a simple, novel methodology to test its germicidal effectiveness using in-house reagents and equipment. As similar components are readily available in many hospitals and industrial facilities, we provide recommendations on the local construction of these systems, as well as guidance and strategies towards successful institutional implementation of FFR decontamination.",

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Construction and validation of an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system using locally available components

Abstract

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