Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation: Advances in viral inactivation and vaccine development

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has gained global attention for preventing disease transmission. While UVGI technology’s utility in sterilization is well-established, there is growing interest in exploring its potential applications in vaccine development. Relevant studies are reviewed to provide a comprehensive perspective on the current state and future potential of UVGI in this domain. Specifically, this review investigates the effectiveness of UVGI in inactivating various pathogens and details the mechanisms through which different research groups have demonstrated their ability to prevent the transmission of various microbes. The novelty of this review, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to critically examine the feasibility of UVGI technology in vaccine development, focusing on its capacity to produce inactivated vaccines, immunogenicity profile, and scalability. The study also identifies existing research gaps, especially in developing novel vaccines using UVGI. By doing so, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of how UVGI can contribute to future strategies for preventing infectious diseases. • Innovative application of UVGI in vaccine development. • Mechanistic insights into viral inactivation by UVGI. • Enhanced UVGI efficacy against enveloped viruses. • Development of human-relevant models for UVGI validation. • Identification of key research gaps and future directions.