Now a technology to kill coronavirus with UV light in ten minutes

As lockdown is easing up and everyone is out and about, there could be a rise in transmission of COVID-19 through different surfaces. Everyone would want to disinfect their new purchases as they bring home groceries. To solve this concern, nanotechnology start-up Log 9 Materials has developed a new product called CoronaOven that uses ultra violet light to kill coronavirus.

CoronaOven is a box shaped disinfection chamber that uses UV-C rays to kill coronavirus in ten minutes.

Once an object is placed inside the box, the device will kill all types of viruses/pathogens (including viruses from the Corona family) from all sides, ensuring each side and surface gets the UVC radiation. It can be used for personal use and also by firms to disinfect surfaces of various objects, household and grocery items, food items, delivery parcels, masks, hospital PPE & tools etc.

The patent-pending product was ideated, developed and launched in the market in a span of 15 days.  

Currently, the firm is manufacturing around 200 units of CoronaOven every day, and expects to scale up production to 500-plus units and develop at least 10 more product variants by June 2020.

The product is available in two versions: portable and plug-in. Priced at Rs 9,999 for 20 litres and Rs 12,999 for 33 litres capacity, the plug-in version can be plugged into a normal socket.  

The other option is portable battery-operated product priced at Rs 17,999 for a 20-litre box. This is used mostly in an ambulance, police van or a grocery delivery van. The start-up will now focus on optimising this solution for different applications and launch its variants. Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials says he has been getting queries to launch its larger version.

The product has already been deployed in various hospitals such as Trustwell, Narayan Hrudalaya and Amrita in Bangalore. Police stations and the airport in Bangalore are also equipped with this device. Diagnostic lab CORE Diagnostics is also using it at its centres.

This technology uses the UltraViolet germicidal irradiation, which is essentially a disinfection method by using short-wavelength UVC rays. Several studies have shown the efficacy of controlled UVC light in damaging the RNA sequence of SARS-CoV1 virus, which renders it incapable of multiplying in living cells.

Ultraviolet light is of three types - UVA, UVB and UVC. Most of the sunlight that reaches the earth comprises UVA. UVB causes sun burns but can be blocked by sun screen lotions. It is UVC that is the dangerous part that is filtered out by the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere. This part of the light destroys genetic material. It has been used since long in hospitals and workshops to sterilise equipment and spaces.

The Bangalore-based firm has developed this technology in partnership with Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore. The product has been scientifically reviewed and verified in terms of UV intensity at the laboratories of IISC.

Suryasarathi Bose, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, says, "The disinfection chamber is highly effective and reliable as it radiates multifocal UV-C light on each point of the surface on any object to be sterilised, and the UV intensity/dosage used in this device has been certified and deemed appropriate by IISC."

The product is available for sale at government of India's e-marketplace portal GEM and on Log 9 website. The firm is now working with the NITI Aayog and state police departments and healthcare providers across India to deploy the product across other public spaces.

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