TY - JOUR ID - 48646 TI - The Paradoxical Role of far-Ultraviolet C (far-UVC) in Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2: The Issue of Droplet Size JO - Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering JA - JBPE LA - en SN - AU - Karimpour, Mohamma AU - Haghani, Masoud AU - Bevelacqua, Joseph J AU - Welsh, James S AU - Mortazavi, Seyed Alireza AU - Mortazavi, Seyed Mohammad Javad AU - Ghadimi-Moghadam, Abdolkarim AD - MSc, Medical Physics and Engineering Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran AD - PhD, Department of Radiology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran AD - PhD, Bevelacqua Resources, Richland, Washington 99352, United States AD - PhD, Department of Radiation Oncology Edward Hines Jr VA Hospital Hines, Illinois. United States AD - MD, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran AD - PhD, Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran AD - MD, Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran Y1 - 2022 PY - 2022 VL - 12 IS - 5 SP - 535 EP - 538 KW - Ultraviolet rays KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - Disinfection KW - Pneumonia DO - 10.31661/jbpe.v0i0.2204-1482 N2 - The Omicron variant is spreading at a rate we have never observed with any previous variant. A lot of efforts have been taken to inactivate SARS-CoV-2, especially the omicron variant. Specific wavelength ranges of electromagnetic radiation can be exploited to inactivate coronaviruses. Previous studies show that 222-nm far-Ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light inactivates airborne influenza virus efficiently. Considering the similar genomic sizes of all human coronaviruses, other human coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, would be expected to be inactivated by far-UVC with a similar efficacy. Taking this into account, it is concluded that exposure to far-UVC can be introduced as a safe method that significantly reduces the ambient level of airborne coronaviruses in crowded places. Biomolecules, particularly proteins, strongly absorb ultraviolet radiation at a wavelength of around 200 nm. Given this consideration, far-UVC has a limited ability to permeate biological materials. Thus, for example, in only around 0.3 mm of tissue, the intensity of 200-nm UV radiation is decreased by half, compared to tissue penetration of about 3 mm at 250 nm. This paper aims to answer the key question of whether far-UVC can penetrate SARS-CoV-2 inside inhalable respiratory droplets (with diameters up to 100 µm). UR - https://jbpe.sums.ac.ir/article_48646.html L1 - https://jbpe.sums.ac.ir/article_48646_67fc6e4df07c934325cfaa8778b39640.pdf ER -