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How photohydrolysis kills viruses, bacteria and fungus for infection control

August 23, 2024 By Jim Hammerand

ActivePure Technologies says its photohydrolysis infection-control system safety kills viruses, bacteria and fungi without producing ozone.

A photo of an ActivePure Induct Guardian device for air and surface decontamination.

The ActivePure Induct Guardian devices attach to a building’s HVAC ductwork for air and surface decontamination. [Image courtesy of ActivePure Technologies]

Advanced photohydrolysis is the technology behind a surface and air decontamination system designed to reduce infections in healthcare settings, nursing homes, schools and even commercial buildings like offices.

ActivePure Technologies (formerly known as Aerus and Electrolux) has FDA 510(k) clearance for the ActivePure Technology, used in its free-standing ActivePure Medical Guardian and its Induct Guardian line, which attaches to a building’s HVAC ductwork.

The technology decreased healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by 70% at two Kentucky and Louisiana acute care intensive care units in a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. ActivePure sponsored the study, which was conducted by ActivePure employees and healthcare professionals at the sites, which used the Induct Guardian III product.

The study also measured colony-forming units (CFUs) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and fungi on surfaces and floors, as well as fungi and aerobic bacteria in the air. The researchers reported more than 98% reduction in mean fungi and MRSA CFUs, more than 96% reductions of fungi and MRSA on the floors of both sites, and reductions of aerobic bacterial air and fungal CFUs of up to 72% at one site and 89% at the other.

One of the researchers is Dr. Deborah Birx, an immunology expert who researched HIV/AIDS and led federal prevention and treatment efforts for the virus and disease before becoming the Trump Administration’s first White House coronavirus response coordinator. Birx is now ActivePure’s chief medical and science advisor.

A photo of Dr. Deborah Birx.

Dr. Deborah Birx [Photo courtesy of ActivePure Technologies]

“Over the last three years, the company has done a whole series of experiments,” Birx said in an interview with Medical Design & Outsourcing. “You know how long it takes to do them, get the data and publish them, so we finally have all the data that I think should be able to convince the medical community that this is the technology that works continuously without human intervention, and not only that, actually has outcome and impact data: [the] outcome of decreasing the environmental contamination in a very clear way, but impact of actually decreasing the associated hospital-acquired infections.”

What is photohydrolysis?

A photo of the ActivePure Medical Guardian.

The ActivePure Medical Guardian [Image courtesy of ActivePure Technologies]

ActivePure calls its ActivePure Technology “photohydrolysis” to differentiate it from photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), saying it has solved potential emissions of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), ozone and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles.

“It captures the way the sun works to disinfect outdoor air and brings it indoor to indoor air,” Birx said when asked the simplest way to explain how the ActivePure photohydrolysis works. “So the same things that makes our outdoor air safer for us to breathe — and why it’s safer to be outside than inside — it translates that safe technology inside. … It creates active molecules that are able to kill viral, bacteria and fungal membranes.”

Birx and the other researchers described the technology in their study as “a proprietary photocatalyst installed in the ducts of a hospital heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system.”

“The ambient humidity in the conditioned air is transformed through a photochemical reaction as it travels through the matrix of the photocatalyst,” the continued. “Identical to the reactions that occur outdoors, the water (H2O) is broken down into trace oxidative molecules, which persistently and continuously diffuse into the environment of care and neutralize pathogenic compounds.”

Is photohydrolysis safe?

Birx said the technology does not produce ozone, unlike earlier generation products that emitted ozone in excess of California emission limits. ActivePure will publish a study demonstrating the safety of its technology, she said.

“We’re measuring it and we’re showing we don’t produce ozone … but the state of the art from the FDA is to do these neonatal mice and rat studies and look at their tissues after continuous exposure, and they did that study,” Birx said. “We’re probably one of the only companies that have that kind of data that can show that the most sensitive tissues in the youngest mammals has no impact from this technology.”

Birx said she’s talking to the FDA about whether to submit the Induct Guardian line for regulatory review.

“What’s exciting to me about the system is it can be adapted to any current HVAC system that anybody has, including old schools, old nursing homes, there are room units, there are in-duct units,” Birx said. “… You don’t have to be out of the room. You can be in the room, you can have it running constantly and it harnesses the power of technology to make safe indoor environments.”

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