Scientists discover a surprising allergy solution: UV light

Allergic people can suffer long after the accused body has been deleted. Researchers, however, are now considering a future with portable devices that can erase a piece of allergens suspended in the air using ultraviolet light (UV).

In new research published in the journal ACS ES&T Air, researchers have found a way to modify the structure of airborne proteins resulting in allergies to UV light. This approach reveals a better alternative to months of cleaning carpets and cats, and in extreme cases, it could even save lives.

“We have found that we can use a passive and generally safe ultraviolet light treatment to quickly inactivate airborne allergens,” said Tess Eidem, microbiologist at the University of Colorado and co-author of the study. “We think it could be another tool to help people fight against allergens in their house, their schools or in other places where allergens accumulate inside.”

You are not allergic to cats

If you are allergic to things like cats, dogs, molds or plants, you are probably not allergic to these organisms in itself, but to a protein they emit. Cats, for example, emit a protein in their saliva called Fel D1 which, when they lick, becomes in the air in tiny flakes of dead skin. When we breathe allergens like these particles, our immune system creates antibodies that lock on the special 3D structure of the protein, triggering an allergic reaction.

This is why you could still sneeze when you shake a carpet, even if a cat has not worked it for months. Proteins are still there, and they cannot be killed as microbes because they are not alive. The decrease in allergens via typical methods such as the use of a filter, vacuum cleaner and walls and pets is useful but difficult to follow in the long term.

As such, Eidem and his colleagues studied an alternative method: instead of trying to get rid of proteins resulting in allergies, they changed their structure to make them unknown to the immune system. The team compares it to deploy an origami animal. “If your immune system is used to a swan and you unfold the protein so that it no longer looks like a swan, you will not go up an allergic response,” said Eidem.

Less intense lights

Cue Light UV. Ultraviolet light is already used to eliminate pathogens suspended in the air and disinfect equipment in institutions such as hospitals and airports. But the bandwidth is generally so strong – a wavelength of 254 nanometers – that people have to put on the equipment to protect their eyes and their skin to use them.

As such, the team tested the wave lights at 222 nanometers less intense, which are deemed without danger for the populated parts because they do not penetrate deep into the cells. EIDEM, however, admits that there are risks, such as ozone production, which can be harmful if it is inhaled. As such, human exposure must always be limited.

EIDEM and his colleagues released tiny allergens of mites, animal scales, mold and pollen in a room and turned four UV222 lamps in the size of a lunch box on the ceiling and the ground. They tested the air at 10 -minute intervals and found that the immunorecognition of the samples treated was reduced. In other words, antibodies have not identified a lot of protein and bind them.

“Aéroallergens have been quantified using an immunodosage based on antibodies, which is based on the conformation of intact proteins for the recognition, bond and quantification of antibodies-allergen,” explained the researchers in the article.

After half an hour, the levels of allergens suspended in the air experienced an average drop of 20 to 25%, depending on the type of allergen, the duration of the light and in which the allergen floated, such as dust or droplets. In a situation, 40 minutes of exposure to UV light saw Fel D1 decrease by 61% compared to untreated air filled with allergens.

“These are fairly fast discounts when you compare them to months of cleaning, tear the carpet and bathe your cat,” said Eidem.

Personal applications

Although UV222 lights are already available for consumers, they are mainly intended for industrial applications, so EIDEM hopes to see the day when people may have access to portable UV222 lights to use for more personal activities, such as visiting this friend with three cats. On a more serious note, the UV222 lights could even save lives.

“Asthma attacks kill about 10 people a day in the United States, and they are often triggered by airborne allergies,” concluded EIDEM. “It is really important to try to develop new ways to prevent this exhibition.”