Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation using UV-C LEDs in public environments via ray-tracing simulation

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 22612
• Main Authors: Lai, Po-Yen, Liu, Huizhe, Ng, Ray Jia Hong, Wint Hnin Thet, Bianca, Chu, Hong-Son, Teo, Jin Wah Ronnie, Ong, Qunxiang, Liu, Yuanjie, Png, Ching Eng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19-11-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/421; 639/624; 692/700/459; Computer Simulation; COVID-19; Disinfection - instrumentation; Environmental impact; Humanities and Social Sciences; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Inactivation; Irradiation; multidisciplinary; SARS-CoV-2 - radiation effects; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Simulation; Singapore; Sterilization - instrumentation; Ultraviolet radiation; Ultraviolet Rays; Virus Inactivation - radiation effects; Singapore
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02156-8

This paper proposes an investigating SARS-CoV-2 inactivation on surfaces with UV-C LED irradiation using our in-house-developed ray-tracing simulator. The results are benchmarked with experiments and Zemax OpticStudio commercial software simulation to demonstrate our simulator's easy accessibility and high reliability. The tool can input the radiant profile of the flexible LED source and accurately yield the irradiance distribution emitted from an LED-based system in 3D environments. The UV-C operating space can be divided into the safe, buffer, and germicidal zones for setting up a UV-C LED system. Based on the published measurement data, the level of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation has been defined as a function of UV-C irradiation. A realistic case of public space, i.e., a food court in Singapore, has been numerically investigated to demonstrate the relative impact of environmental UV-C attenuation on the SARS-CoV-2 inactivation. We optimise a specific UV-C LED germicidal system and its corresponding exposure time according to the simulation results. These ray-tracing-based simulations provide a useful guideline for safe deployment and efficient design for germicidal UV-C LED technology.