The Science of a Healthy Building

Surface disinfection – CleanWhite®

Safe for humans and animals, all harmful blue light is suppressed by CleanWhite technology. CleanWhite is often used to kill resistant organisms, many of which flourish in hospitals and healthcare settings.

Biochemical Oxidation

Uses patented LED lighting that emits specialized, precision blue-light wavelengths.

White-Light Spectrum

Illuminates disinfecting 405/470nm light wavelengths in a white-light spectrum.

Surface Disinfection

Many pathogens are eliminated within the first 4 hours, while >99% of the most difficult fungi, mold, and spores are destroyed within 24 hours.

Air purification and disinfection – Air Guardian®

How air travels throughout rooms, spaces, and within buildings may affect disease transmission more than any other factor. Air Guardian produces a pure, downward airflow that creates a protective layer of air within the breathing strata.

Oxidation

Air is continuously exposed to intense oxidation processes beginning with the initial filter and continuing along pathway corridors. These processes destroy and inactivate pathogens.

Irradiation

As air travels along internal corridors, powerful UV irradiation of more than 120,000 millijoules/cm2 provides more than 2 x 106 times the energy needed to kill pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. UV irradiation at these intense levels either destroys, removes, or inactivates particulates and pathogens prior to final filtration.

Contained

The safe, sealed Air Guardian fixture ingests air at a rate of 240-300 cubic feet per minute, which facilitates rapid room air changes. Each fixture can replace 14,400-18,000 cubic feet of air per hour.* Room air changes can occur every several minutes depending upon variations of room size and fixture selection.

Air Guardian Plus

This patent pending medical-grade device leverages scientifically validated mechanisms utilized within illumiPure’s Air Guardian and CleanWhite technologies to provide the highest level of infection protection.

Compare illumiPure® to traditional UVGI and HVAC solutions

Features

HVAC

UVGI with UV lamps

illumiPure solution

Provides local in-room air filtration

Limited

Personalized ventilation

Limited

Provides upper-room UVGI

In-room flow regimes

Limited

HEPA or HEPA-level filtration

Limited

Provides removal of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)

Limited

Science Insights & Resources

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FAQs

*Based on 2x4 Air Guardian.
What is germicidal UV, and what is UVGI?

Germicidal UV (GUV) refers to using ultraviolet radiant energy to inactivate bacteria, mold spores, fungi or viruses. When the process is applied in a given location, it has generally been referred to as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI). Because of the public’s concern about ionizing radiation (e.g., X-rays and gamma rays), the term GUV avoids needless concerns about a link with that type of radiation. Another non-technical term is germicidal light, although “light” is technically only visible radiation.

Is all ultraviolet considered germicidal ultraviolet (GUV)?

No. Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) – refers to short-wavelength ultraviolet “light” (radiant energy) that has been shown to kill bacteria and spores and to inactivate viruses. Wavelengths in the photobiological ultraviolet spectral band known as the “UV-C,” from 200 to 280 nanometers (nm), have been shown to be the most effective for disinfection, although longer, less energetic UV can also disinfect if applied in much greater doses. UV-C wavelengths comprise photons (particles of light) that are the most energetic in the optical spectrum (comprising UV, visible, and infrared) and therefore are the most photochemically active.

Can UV-C kill viruses as well as bacteria?

Yes, UV-C kills living bacteria, but viruses are technically not living organisms; thus, we should correctly say “inactivate viruses.” Individual, energetic UV-C photons photochemically interact with the RNA and DNA molecules in a virus or bacterium to render these microbes non-infectious. This all happens on the microscopic level. Viruses are less than one micrometer (µm, one-millionth of a meter) in size, and bacteria are typically 0.5 to 5 µm.

Can UV-C effectively inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for COVID-19?

Yes, if the virus is directly illuminated by UV-C at the effective dose level. UV-C can play an effective role with other methods of disinfection, but it is essential that individuals be protected to prevent UV hazards to the eyes and skin. UV-C should not be used to disinfect the hands!

How is the COVID-19 virus spread?

The official position of the World Health Organization (WHO) is that this virus is spread by contact with large respiratory droplets, directly or indirectly by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth. However, research is underway to determine the degree of airborne spread—meaning virus in particles so small that they remain suspended in air. Such aerosol results from the evaporation of larger respiratory particles generated by coughs, sneezes, ordinary speech, singing, and possibly by faulty plumbing systems, as occurred with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. How much of the virus responsible for COVID-19 is spread by the airborne route is not clear, but recommendations for healthcare workers to use fitted respirators, not surgical masks, reveal official concern for airborne transmission. The possibility that inhaled virus may result in more-severe lung damage than acquisition by other routes—for example, via the mouth, nose, or eye—is currently being investigated.

How long do virus particles and bacteria remain airborne?

This is important, but difficult to answer in a simple fashion and it depends on how the microbes were made airborne, e.g., from a sneeze or cough, or by being blown up from surfaces or dusted off clothes. The smallest particles (1- to 5-µm droplet nuclei) can remain airborne much longer than cough droplets—for many minutes or even hours.

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14340 Torrey Chase Blvd
Suite 410
Houston, TX 77014


Phone: (346) 588-7873