How Does Ultraviolet Disinfection Work?

What is Ultraviolet Disinfection?

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate microorganisms including bacteria and viruses.

How Does Ultraviolet Disinfection Work?

The radiation from UV-C ultraviolet light destroys the outer layer of microorganisms’ cells, thus disrupting their DNA. As a result, the microorganisms are rendered inactive, as they are no longer able to perform their vital cellular functions or to reproduce.

Once their DNA has been disrupted, these microorganisms are rendered harmless, and viruses are no longer able to spread or to infect new hosts.

UVGI is therefore an environmentally friendly way of destroying the DNA and RNA of bacteria, viruses, fungi and mould – resulting in destruction of their ability to multiply and/or cause disease.

About Ultraviolet Disinfection – What You Need to Know

• • Ultraviolet light travels in a straight line, and as it travels UV-C sterilises everything it comes into contact with – this includes air, surfaces and even liquids.
  • Ultraviolet radiation cannot penetrate through windows or objects.
  • The dosage of UV-C radiation is strongest close to the bulbs. This dose builds in strength over time while the device is switched on, and the strength radiates outwards from the disinfection device. Therefore the closer a surface is to the UV bulbs, the faster / sooner it will be sterilised.

Ultraviolet disinfection has been used for decades in hospital settings to sterilise surfaces and air. It has also been put to use in small-scale devices for home sterilising purposes such as infant bottle sterilising and even aquarium / fish tank disinfection, which benefit from its chemical-free sterilising properties.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, however, more devices have come to market making ultraviolet disinfection an affordable and achievable disinfection method for new and wider audiences. These devices vary from small surface sterilisers such as smartphone sterilisers right up to full room sterilisers such as the Muv-X UV Room Steriliser.