Virus Inactivation Using Ultraviolet LEDs

Virus inactivation technology is attracting much attention to realize mitigation of the spread of COVID-19. There are many approaches for virus inactivation. One of the effective methods well known is directly damaging their RNAs by ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LED). However, the quantum efficiency in the UV-LED is much lower than that of the visible LEDs. So, a large cooling system is required owing to maintain irradiation because LED generates heat. In this report, the present situation of UV-LED characteristic such as the wavelength, quantum efficiency, and lifetime in LED are shown. Moreover, the virus inactivation effect by the UV-LED with including COVID-19 is explained. Finally, we introduce the recent study in UV-LEDs becoming the common in virus inactivation.