Bitragunta Vivek Vardhan, a final year student from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, has filed a design copyright for developing a “UV Ray Wooden Sanitizer Disinfection Box”. This is a safe chemical-free product designed to disinfect the surfaces of items. In this period of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been difficult to sanitize mobile phones, tabs, laptops, car/bike keys, wallets, currency/coins, credit/debit cards, newspapers, pens, goggles, spectacles, accessories, milk packets, bakery items, water-absorbing products, delivery packages, toys, clothes etc with liquid sanitisers or else with water.
Researchers say that the coronavirus stays on surfaces of plastic (3-7 days), stainless steel (3-7 days), copper (up to 4 hours), paper (up to 4 days), glass (4 days), cardboard (24 hours), and wood (up to 2 days). UVC has a wavelength of 10 nm to 400 nm and is used for the disinfection method that has short-wavelength light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. The UVC light used in the product will not penetrate into solid surfaces and it is safe to use on touchscreen mobiles, laptops, tabs, etc. It is also proven that the disinfection box can destroy the bacteria and viruses on the surface of food items without causing any harm to the edibility.
“In future, I have plans to take this project to the next level by designing large dimensions of the box and making it work automatically with remote control through our mobile phone. I am extremely happy about filing the copyright and I express my heartfelt gratitude to Prof Siva Sankar Sir and Pro VC Prof D Narayana Rao Sir for giving me the opportunity and supporting me to expand my idea up to the level of implementation. And I thank Prof Vinod Kumar Sir for taking care of the filing process. Finally, I thank SRM University-AP for encouraging and nurturing young talents in all ways possible, “ Vivek stated.