A Plastic Film That Can Kill Viruses Using Room Lights
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have developed a plastic film that can kill viruses that land on its surface with room light. The self-sterilizing film is the first of its kind-it is low cost to produce, can be readily scaled and could be used for disposable aprons, tablecloths, and curtains in hospitals. It is coated with a thin layer of particles that absorb UV light and produce reactive oxygen species-ROS. These kill viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
The technology used to create the film also ensures it is degradable-unlike the current disposable plastic films it would replace, which is much more environmentally friendly. The breakthrough could lead to a significant reduction in the transmission of viruses in healthcare environments but also in other settings that uses plastic films-for example, food production factories.
[...] They found that the film is effective at killing all of the viruses-even in a room lit with just white fluorescent tubes.
[...] Professor Andrew Mills comments, "This film could replace many of the disposable plastic films used in the healthcare industry as it has the added value of being self-sterilizing at no real extra cost. Through rigorous testing we have found that it is effective at killing viruses with just room light-this is the first time that anything like this has been developed and we hope that it will be a huge benefit to society."
Journal Reference:
Ri Han, Jonathon D.Coey, Christopher O'Rourke, et al., Flexible, disposable photocatalytic plastic films for the destruction of viruses [open], Photochem Photobiol, 235, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2022.112551
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