Kiyosu, Japan, September 24, 2020: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has conducted a viral inactivation experiment¹ in which the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was irradiated using deep ultraviolet (UV) LED technology it has developed. The experiment was conducted jointly with the Biomedical Science Association,² a certified NPO, and showed these deep UV LEDs to be highly effective in inactivating the coronaviruses.

Toyoda Gosei has been developing deep UV LED technology since 2017, making use of the knowledge it had cultivated over many years in the development and production of blue LEDs. The company is currently applying this technology broadly to the purification of water and air with the aim of creating safer and healthier living.

Toyoda Gosei will continue to leverage its core strengths with the aim of contributing to a sustainable society.

¹Inactivation means denaturing the proteins that make up the genetic information of viruses or bacteria so that they are rendered unable to proliferate (lose infectivity).

²A certified NPO composed of experts from public research institutes and universities specializing in the biological sciences, including medicine, pharmacology, veterinary medicine, agriculture and other fields.

Experimental outline, results

• Method: Viral inactivation was measured after deep UV irradiation for a set time.
• Result: More than 99.999% of viruses were confirmed to be inactivated in less than 5 sec.

See attachment for more details on the experiment

 

Inactivation of novel coronavirus with deep UV irradiation
(Partial excerpt of experimental results. Blue shows that viruses have been inactivated and lost their infectivity)