August 26, 2020 | less than a minute read

Food Coloring to fight against viruses and bacteria transmitted by air?

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Chris Würdemann

Global Senior Director Strategic Development & Operational Excellence

Get in touch

Chris Würdemann

Global Senior Director Strategic Development & Operational Excellence

The reports about the development of a prototype device that is built to generate aerosols out of FDA-approved food coloring dyes are very interesting. These colorings could be used to produce free radicals that can help to kill harmful pathogens.

As many regions around the world are beginning to lift restrictions on indoor gatherings and as travel begins to resume, as the article says, "it is critical to be able to disinfect and sanitize large volumes of indoor air where many people are present to reduce the chances of transmission."

There is still work to be done, but innovative ideas like this are crucial to our evolvement in how we not only recover from COVID-19 but prepare for the next pandemic risk.

Great Idea! Great Work! Great Article!

Thanks to Young, Hee-Jae, Jung and Yuhyun

Instead of using expensive medical photosensitizers, we have identified several FDA-approved food coloring dyes that can be used to generate free radicals in visible light. We use ultrasound to generate small aerosols containing the food coloring so that the dyes can float and linger in the air. The aerosols are barely visible, and their small size and short lifespan in light means they don’t stain surfaces.