News Archives

  • UNM
  • >Home
  • >News
  • >2021
  • >April
  • >‘Engineering in Action’ to explore research into how UV light and polymers can kill viruses

‘Engineering in Action’ to explore research into how UV light and polymers can kill viruses

April 12, 2021 - by Kim Delker

engineering-in-action-chi-and-whitten.png

The next edition of “Engineering in Action: How Our Innovation is Impacting Our Community,” a periodic virtual series presented by The University of New Mexico School of Engineering, will feature a discussion of current research into how UV light combined with certain polymers can kill viruses such as the coronavirus on surfaces.

“A Bright Future: The Virus-Killing Possibilities of UV Light and Polymers,” will be at 3:30 p.m. April 23 on Zoom. The presenters will include Eva Chi and David Whitten, both from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, who are part of a cross-campus team leading the research efforts.

The team, which includes members of the UNM School of Medicine, recently published a paper detailing how certain polymers and oligomers, when combined with UV light, have been shown to almost completely kill the coronavirus.

The researchers will discuss the current findings from their work, as well as provide updates on the application of the technology and plans to commercialize the discovery into products such as sprays and wipes.