Disinfection method and apparatus
AssigneesUniversity of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital
InventorsJames Chen, Tanner Clark, Thomas Lendvay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Photosensitizers are incorporated into articles, such a personal protective equipment. A method of applying continuous and consistent light includes fitting the articles with light sources and optical fibers to apply light to the areas of the articles incorporated with the photosensitizers. Photosensitizers can be applied to articles by various applicators in either a gel or solution. A gel can be particularly effective when used on hydrophobic surfaces. Photodynamic reactor systems can be used to determine the effective doses of photosensitizers and the light dosimetry which can then be applied for use with the articles.
Claims23
An article that is worn on a person, comprising:
- a material forming a part of the article that covers a body part, the material is configured to provide protection from microbes;
- and
- one or more photosensitizers are incorporated over an area of the material, wherein the one or more photosensitizers generate singlet oxygen by absorbing light of a particular waveband to provide protection from microbes in combination with the material.
A method of disinfecting an article, comprising:
- loading a composition onto an absorbent material via diffusion of the composition from a reservoir connected to the absorbent material, the composition includes one or more photosensitizers in a solution or gel;
- and
- applying the composition onto an area of an article by placing the absorbent material in contact with the article.
A disinfecting gel composition, comprising:
- one or more photosensitizers, each photosensitizer has a concentration from 0.01 μM to 1,000 μM;
- a gelling agent selected from agar, pectin, carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, gelatin, and combinations thereof, each gelling agent has a concentration;
- and
- a diluent or solvent.
A system for photodynamically treating microbes, comprising:
- a vessel containing a liquid photosensitizing composition of one or more photosensitizers within an interior of the vessel;
- a light source configured to direct light to the interior of the vessel, the light source is configured to emit light in a red waveband, light in a blue waveband, and light in a green waveband;
- and the light source is configured to vary fluence rates of the wavebands;
- and
- a controller the controls the wavebands emitted by the light source and fluence rates emitted by the light source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.