Disinfectant light provides a cure for Covid

A new Covid therapy uses light acting as a disinfectant to deactivate the Covid virus.

Let’s come clean; the source for this article is an advertising feature in Nature Magazine. The feature states — “Advertiser retains sole responsibility for the content of this article.”  So let’s bear the above in mind.

It turns out that the Institute of Post-LED Photonics (pLED) at Tokushima University in Japan is investigating ways to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus using light-based technologies used for disinfection.

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Photonics researcher Takeo Minamikawa stated: “We have been working on the inactivation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using deep ultraviolet light.

“We know this is a promising technology for disinfecting surfaces and liquids, but for the technology to be commercially useful, we first need to quantify the light level needed to inactivate the virus effectively.”

Ultraviolet light damages skin — this is something we all know. It is harmful to viruses too; well, we all know sunshine can do us good.

“DNA is specifically sensitive to light with a wavelength of 265 nanometres,” which happens to fall into the middle of the ultraviolet range.

So all the researchers have to do is work out how to apply the therapy to the virus without wiping out the rest of our DNA — that’s all.

Takeshi Yasui, the p-LED institute director, said: “There are other groups in Japan combining photonics and medicine, but most are using visible light. The originality of our collaboration is in using deep ultraviolet, terahertz, and infrared technologies, which are much less mature, so we need to make our own light sources and detectors. There are few research groups working in this area around the world.”

According to Cancer Research UK. “The sun produces a number of different ultraviolet UV rays, each with their own wavelength.

“Ultraviolet A (UVA) is one of the rays, or wavelengths, produced by the sun. By combining it with a drug called psoralen it can help with some skin conditions, including some skin cancers. This treatment is called PUVA. “

It added: “You might also hear about an ultraviolet light treatment called phototherapy.”