RAPID: Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation for Disinfecting and Reuse of N95 Respirators

美国各地的医院正面临医疗用品短缺的问题，特别是N95呼吸器等个人防护装备(PPE)。因此，在照顾新冠肺炎患者的同时，找到替代方法来保护医疗专业人员的安全，是一种时间敏感且紧迫的需要。大多数个人防护用品，如N95口罩，都是一次性使用的。对于新冠肺炎来说，维持N95口罩的供应已成为一个严峻的挑战，因为新的供应与消费速度不匹配。此外，封锁下的全球供应链中断也是造成短缺的原因之一。目前迫切需要开发有效的技术或工具箱，帮助一线医护人员获得抗击新冠肺炎疫情所需的个人防护装备。在这项研究中，研究团队将与纽约北部医科大学感染控制部和治疗新冠肺炎患者的社区医院联合健康服务(UHS)的临床研究人员合作，开发紫外线杀菌照射技术，以消毒和重复使用N95呼吸器。过去曾研究过紫外线照射对N95口罩进行去污，然而，其对受新冠肺炎污染的N95口罩的有效性还没有得到很好的证实。这项研究的首要目标是填补这一空白，并为新冠肺炎大流行期间N95口罩的有效消毒和重复使用产生新的知识。几个研究小组正在测试低热、蒸发过氧化氢气体(VHPG)、紫外线杀菌等消毒技术，以净化N95口罩。与VHPG不同，UVC灭菌不需要复杂的仪器。紫外线灭菌装置可以用相对简单的材料很容易地建造起来。它更适合于中等规模的医院和社区医院，这些医院的新冠肺炎患者没有位于大城市的医疗中心那么多。提议中的研究团队已经开发出一种紫外线浴池，每天能够为960个N95呼吸器消毒，如果使用两个浴池，每天可以消毒1920个。然而，目前还没有关键数据来验证这些绝育的效果。这项研究旨在提供这些数据并产生新的知识，以提高紫外线杀菌照射的效率。目前也不清楚紫外线照射过程中产生的臭氧是否可以改善消毒效果。将进行一项基础性研究，以阐明臭氧对紫外线灭菌的影响。此外，研究小组将探索用于消毒受冠状病毒污染的N95口罩的高频紫外线。使用高波长紫外线照射可以减少N95口罩聚合物的化学降解，延长其使用寿命。本研究旨在为紫外线N95口罩消毒提供全面的数据和分析。这些数据对于公正地评估去污技术是必不可少的，并将为冠状病毒抵抗紫外线照射的程度提供洞察。臭氧和高波紫外线辐照的研究将为设计更好的UVC N95口罩灭菌系统提供新的知识。预计研究结果将有助于指导未来关于如何管理和适应个人防护装备不足的政府决策。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Hospitals across the US are facing shortage of medical supplies, especially personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 respirators. Consequently, there is a time-sensitive and critical need to find alternative means to keep medical professionals protected while caring for COVID-19 patients. Most PPE such as N95 respirators are designed for one-time use. For COVID-19, maintaining the supply of N95 respirators has become gravely challenging, as new supply has not matched the consumption rate. Moreover, disruption of global supply chains under lockdown also contributes to the shortage. There is an urgent need to develop effective technologies or toolboxes to help frontline healthcare workers have the PPE needed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the research team will collaborate with clinical investigators in the Infectious Control Division at the New York Upstate Medical University and United Health Service (UHS), a community hospital treating COVID-19 patients, to develop ultraviolet (UVC) germicidal irradiation technology to disinfect and reuse N95 respirators. UVC irradiation has been investigated in the past to decontaminate N95 masks; however, its effectiveness on COVID-19 contaminated N95 masks is not well established. The overarching goal of this research is to fill this gap and generate new knowledge for effective disinfection and reuse of N95 respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sterilization technologies such as low heat, vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas (VHPG), UVC germicidal, etc. are being tested by several groups of investigators for decontaminating N95 respirators. Unlike VHPG, UVC sterilization does not require sophisticated instrumentation. A UVC sterilization unit can be built easily with relatively simple materials. It is more suitable and operable in medium size and community hospitals where COVID-19 patients are not as numerous as in medical centers located in large cities. The proposing research team has developed a UVC bath station capable of disinfecting 960 N95 respirators a day, and 1,920 a day if two stations are used. However, currently key data are not available to validate the efficacy of these sterilizations. This study is designed to provide this data and to generate new knowledge in order to improve efficiency of UV germicidal irradiation. It is also unclear whether ozone generated during UVC irradiation improves disinfection. A fundamental study will be performed to elucidate the impact of ozone on UVC sterilization. Furthermore, the research team will explore high wavelength UVC for disinfecting coronavirus-contaminated N95 respirators. The use of high wavelength UVC irradiation should reduce chemical degradation of the polymers of N95 respirators, extending their lifetime. This study is targeted to provide comprehensive data and analyses on UVC N95 mask disinfection. This data is essential for an unbiased assessment of the decontamination technique, and will provide insight into the extent to which coronaviruses can withstand UV irradiation. Studies on ozone and high wavelength UVC irradiation will provide new knowledge for designing a better UVC N95 mask sterilization system. It is anticipated that the results of the research will help guide future governmental decision making about how to manage and adapt to PPE shortages.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.