Study reveals UV LED lights effectively kill a human coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2 was also viable for several days on common surfaces, such as stainless steel and plastic.Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.Because of the urgent need to find effective disinfection methods for SARS-CoV-2, researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel — in collaboration with the University of Haifa, Oranim Academic College, and Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer — set out to investigate whether or not irradiation using UV LED would inactivate human coronaviruses.They recently published their results in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.Using the human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) as a substitute for SARS-CoV-2, the research team tested different UV LED bulbs emitting varying wavelengths — measured in nanometers (nm) — to see which would effectively inactivate the HCoV-OC43 virus.After exposing viral suspensions placed in darkened tubes to UV LED light, the team found that wavelengths of 285 nm were highly effective at inactivating the virus and almost as effective as wavelengths of 265 nm, inactivating 99.9% of the coronavirus in under 30 seconds.