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

美国各地的医院都面临医疗用品短缺的问题，尤其是N95呼吸器等个人防护装备（PPE）。因此，迫切需要找到替代方法，在照顾COVID-19患者的同时保护医疗专业人员。大多数个人防护装备（如N95口罩）都是一次性使用的。针对新冠肺炎疫情，维持N95口罩的供应已成为一项严峻挑战，因为新的供应与消费速度不匹配。此外，封锁下全球供应链的中断也加剧了短缺。迫切需要开发有效的技术或工具箱，以帮助一线卫生保健工作者获得抗击COVID-19大流行所需的个人防护装备。在这项研究中，研究小组将与纽约上州医科大学感染控制部门的临床研究人员和治疗COVID-19患者的社区医院联合健康服务中心（UHS）合作，开发紫外线（UVC）杀菌照射技术，用于消毒和重复使用N95呼吸器。过去曾研究过紫外线照射来净化N95口罩；然而，它对受COVID-19污染的N95口罩的有效性尚未得到很好的证实。本研究的总体目标是填补这一空白，并为在COVID-19大流行期间有效消毒和重复使用N95口罩提供新知识。低温、汽化过氧化氢气体（VHPG）、UVC杀菌等灭菌技术正在由几组研究人员对N95口罩的消毒进行测试。与VHPG不同，UVC灭菌不需要复杂的仪器。用相对简单的材料就可以很容易地制造出UVC杀菌装置。在新冠肺炎患者较少的中型医院和社区医院，比在大城市的医疗中心更适合和可操作性。研究小组开发出了每天可以消毒960个N95口罩的UVC浴池，如果使用两个浴池，每天可以消毒1920个N95口罩。然而，目前还没有关键数据来验证这些灭菌的有效性。本研究旨在提供这些数据，并产生新的知识，以提高紫外线杀菌辐照的效率。紫外线照射过程中产生的臭氧是否能改善消毒也不清楚。将进行一项基础研究，以阐明臭氧对紫外线杀菌的影响。此外，研究小组将探索用于消毒被冠状病毒污染的N95口罩的高波长UVC。使用高波长UVC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UVC 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至关重要，并将有助于深入了解冠状病毒能够承受紫外线照射的程度。对臭氧和高波长UVC辐射的研究将为设计更好的UVC N95口罩杀菌系统提供新的知识。预计研究结果将有助于指导未来政府如何管理和适应个人防护装备短缺的决策。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.