UV-C lamp for laboratories: reduce moulds and bacteria in the air and on workbenches, without chemicals

The UV-C device itself is not what gets audited; what is assessed is the laboratory’s quality and biosafety management system: ISO/IEC 17025 for technical competence and the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (4th edition) for biological risk assessment and biosafety practices. Biological safety cabinets are covered by EN 12469, an international reference standard for these cabinets. For the equipment, IEC 62471 covers the photobiological safety of lamps and lamp systems, and the ICNIRP guidelines on exposure to ultraviolet radiation set the reference limits for staff exposure. UV-C is documented as a decontamination procedure for surfaces, biological safety cabinets and air, with its dose parameters and verification records.

A laboratory UV lamp emits UV-C radiation, the germicidal band of the spectrum. This radiation penetrates the cell wall of viruses, bacteria and moulds and damages their DNA or RNA, which prevents them from replicating. It does not act by chemical contact, but by exposure to light.

It depends on the floor area and on whether staff are present in the room. The UFO 200 provides lighting and disinfection for up to 16 m² with a presence sensor, suitable during working hours. The X36 covers 16 m² and the X50 up to 30 m²; both are higher-power, germicidal-only units for cycles with the room empty.

Only with units that include a 5.8G presence sensor, such as the UFO 200, which cuts UV-C emission when it detects movement. The X36 and X50 lamps have no sensor and are programmed to run cycles with the laboratory unoccupied, for example at the end of the working day or between shifts.

A UV-C LED lamp performs the same germicidal function without mercury, which removes the risk of a contaminating breakage inside the laboratory and the handling of hazardous waste. It also emits at the 265 nm germicidal peak, does not generate ozone and lasts more than 10,000 hours.

The time depends on the dose, which results from four variables: lamp power, exposure time, distance to the surface and the geometry of the object. At short range the reduction happens in seconds; for a whole room, longer cycles are programmed. At UV-Life we define the dose for each laboratory.

No. UV-C disinfection works by radiation, not chemical contact, so it leaves no residues, films or odours on workbenches, equipment or samples. UV-Life UV-C LED lamps are also mercury-free and do not generate ozone, so they introduce no contaminants into the room.

Maintenance is limited to cleaning the emitting surface periodically, because dust reduces the effective irradiance, and replacing the unit at the end of its service life of more than 10,000 hours. Unlike a mercury tube, it does not need frequent replacements or hazardous waste handling.

Yes. It has validations from MINSAL, ISP, SGS and Bureau Veritas, plus microbiological studies of its own and from clients that measure the reduction of coliforms, aerobic mesophilic counts, moulds and yeasts on surfaces, in air and in water. See the studies →

At UV-Life prices start at US$119 for the UFO 200, which provides lighting and disinfection for up to 16 m² with a presence sensor. The X36 germicidal lamp costs US$279 and the X50, which covers up to 30 m², US$690. Prices are in US dollars, excluding GST and import customs duty, which the customer pays at Indian customs when the equipment arrives.