THE SCIENCE BEHIND MUNDUS PRO
It took thousands of hours of research to develop the science and technology inside Mundus Pro.
Below, we’ll discuss how disinfecting power is measured in a laboratory and understand how titanium dioxide increases the germicidal power of UV-C light waves. We’ll also look at the kinds of microbes that Mundus Pro is certified to kill, organized by the UV-C lightwave sensitivity.
Finally, we’ll ask an important question: Can Mundus Pro kill the new coronavirus? (The scientific data suggests a resounding yes!)
Log Reduction: How Labs Measure Germicidal Power
In the laboratory, pathogen-killing power is measured in log reduction, a logarithmic ratio that shows the efficacy of a decontamination process.
The higher the log reduction, the more effective the sanitization is. An item before decontamination is log 0 — none of the original number of microbes (called colony forming units, or CFUs) have been eliminated.
Log 1 indicates a 90% reduction from the initial number of microbes, while Log 2 equals a 99% reduction. Each increase by 1 in the log reduction value indicates a reduction by a factor of 10 from the preceding amount.
| LOG REDUCTION | GERM ELIMINATION RATE | REMAINING CFUs |
|---|---|---|
| Log 0 | 0% | 1,000,000 |
| Log 1 | 90% | 100,000 |
| Log 2 | 99% | 10,000 |
| Log 3 | 99.9% | 1,000 |
| Log 4 | 99.99% | 100 |
| Log 5 | 99.999% | 10 |
| Log 6 | 99.9999% | 1 |
Mundus Pro’s Log Reduction
So what log reduction does Mundus Pro achieve?
Standard UV-C sanitizers only achieve log 3, a 99.9% reduction in microbes, with 1,000 CFUs still remaining on the sanitized item’s surface.
In contrast, Mundus Pro achieves the extraordinary log value of 5.09 (99.9998% of microbes destroyed) with the recommended 8-minute disinfection cycle!
Log Reduction Over Time
So you know that Mundus Pro disinfects quickly — the full disinfection cycle takes only 8 minutes, less time than is needed to drink a cup of coffee. But what if you are pressed for time, and can’t wait? Should you skip disinfecting?
No need — you can save time and stay safe. Laboratory testing from Intertek shows how Mundus Pro’s log reduction begins strong and then increases over time.
| TIME | LOG REDUCTION |
|---|---|
| 2 min | log 3.64 (99.98%) |
| 4 min | log 3.94 (99.99%) |
| 6 min | log 4.60 (99.997%) |
| 8 min | log 5.09 (99.999%) |
Even at only two minutes of use, Mundus Pro achieves a 99.98% disinfection rate, better by a factor of almost 10 from standard UV-C sanitizers. After 8 minutes, Mundus Pro neutralizes all but 0.001% of the original surface microbes.
Why Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)?
Titanium dioxide is well known as the mineral pigment that makes the color white. When certain formulations of TiO2 are exposed to UV irradiation they also exhibit photocatalytic qualities — that is, they increase the disinfectant effect of the ultraviolet waves. UV lightwaves unleash the oxidative power of TiO2’s electrons onto water, oxygen, and organic matter (including viruses, bacteria, and fungi).
Commercial uses of titanium dioxide exploit this phenomenon. TiO2 has long been added to paints, tiles, cements, and windows for its sanitizing and deodorizing properties.
Mundus Pro and TiO2
Mundus Pro uses the photocatalytic property of titanium dioxide to increase the efficacy of the UV-C light waves emitted by the UV-C lamps and bulbs.
To understand the power of TiO2, the independent laboratory Gmicro tested the log reduction of one Mundus Pro UV-C lamp and one UV-C LED on glass microbial sheets of E. coli. Then Gmicro repeated these tests, but with the addition of TiO2. How did the germicidal efficacy change?
The results were clear. While the log reduction values for Mundus Pro’s UV-C lamp and UV-C LED were already impressive, titanium dioxide maximized the germ-killing power.
| ITEM | LOG REDUCTION | REMAINING CFUs |
|---|---|---|
| UV-C LAMP | 4.47 (99.99%) | 33.88 |
| UV-C LAMP plus TIO2 | 4.84 (99.9986%) | 14.45 |
| UV-C LED | 5.32 (99.9995%) | 4.78 |
| UV-C LED plus TI02 | 5.62 (99.9998%) | 2.39 |
Mundus Pro’s UV-C lamp alone achieved a 99.99% reduction in microbes (from 1,000,000 to 100 remaining CFUs), already an impressive achievement. However, the dual UV-C wavelength system plus titanium dioxide achieved the extraordinary value 5.62 log, or 99.9998%. Barely two remaining individual microbes managed to survive!
See the power of TiO2 in action. We applied methylene blue to Mundus Pro’s TiO2-covered interior and exposed it to UV-C light. Thanks to the photocatalytic effect of TiO2, the blue becomes transparent quickly. On the standard plastic nothing happens. This same oxidizing process also occurs to viruses and bacteria.
Common Pathogens and Mundus Pro
Mundus Pro’s unique dual UV-C wavelength mix allows it to eliminate a broad range of viruses, bacteria, and fungi all along the lightwave spectrum. Below are just a few of the most common and serious pathogens that Mundus Pro is certified at effectively killing, grouped by UV-C lightwave vulnerability.
UV-C Lamps (254nm)
Streptococcus pneumoniae
This gram-positive bacterium is the main cause of potentially fatal pneumonia in people. Normally, Streptococcus pneumoniae resides asymptomatically in our upper respiratory system, but can become pathogenic when the immune system is weakened.
Mundus Pro is certified to completely destroy Streptococcus pneumoniae, helping to prevent pneumonia caused by this bacterium.
Aspergillus niger
This type of mold can cause aspergillosis for asthma sufferers or those with compromised immune systems. Aspergillosis is a serious disease that can cause severe damage to the lungs, blood vessels, brain, nose and other organs.
Though normally Aspergillus niger is resistant to UV rays in conventional sterilizers, Mundus Pro is certified to be able to eliminate this pathogen as well.
Candida albicans
This fungus is common inside the microbiome, though it can live outside it as well. In immuno-compromised people it can give rise to infections and is particularly difficult to eliminate from contaminated objects. Invasive candidiasis is a serious disease that, by one estimate, kills between 2,800 and 11,200 people in the US every year.
Mundus Pro eliminates the danger caused by the possible presence of Candida albicans
UV-C LEDs (275nm)
Escherichia coli
This bacterium lives in a symbiotic way with human beings — it makes up part of a healthy gut microbiota and is expelled in fecal matter. Through the cross-contamination of objects or food, E. coli can reach other parts of the body and cause diseases ranging from enteritis to the potentially fatal meningitis and sepsis.
Mundus Pro completely destroys E. coli and makes sanitized items inside safe.
What About The New Coronavirus?
UV-C Light and SARS-CoV-2
Current research from scientists at the University of Milano INAF suggests that UV-C light destroys 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, with as little as 10 seconds of exposure.
As the study mentions, “UV radiation, in particular UV-C (200 – 280 nm), is one of the most reliable and widely accepted approaches” to disinfection.
It continues, The potential virucidal effects of UV-C irradiation on SARS-CoV-2 were experimentally evaluated for different illumination doses and virus concentrations (1000, 5, 0.05 MOI). Both virus inactivation and replication inhibition were investigated as a function of these parameters. At a virus density comparable to that observed in SARS-CoV-2 infection, an UV-C dose of just 3.7 mJ/cm2 was sufficient to achieve a 3-log inactivation, and complete inhibition of all viral concentrations was observed with 16.9 mJ/cm2. These results could explain the epidemiological trends of COVID-19 and are important for the development of novel sterilizing methods to contain SARS-CoV-2 infection.
By comparing the UV-C dosages cited in this study with the strength of Mundus Pro’s UV-C lamps and UV-C LEDs (3mJ/cm2 per second), one can infer that Mundus Pro achieves the complete destruction of SARS-CoV-2 in less than 6 seconds.
Mundus Pro vs RNA Viruses
Laboratories are not able to directly test commercial disinfecting devices for SARS-CoV-2 due to current market restrictions. However, tests can be run against other viruses with a similar genetic structure, and the findings can then be extrapolated.
SARS-CoV-2 is classified as an RNA virus. Thus, Mundus Pro was tested against another RNA virus, the feline calcivirus.
The result was clear: according the test results summary, Mundus Pro effectively eliminates the feline calcivirus: “After treatment for 8 minutes...we could find no recovery of the virus’s genetic material” (Lachiver Alimenti, Study of the “Mundus Pro” Medical Device, Reference No.: 20CN00179).
Quality and Safety Certifications
Mundus Pro is certified by the world’s leading independent quality and testing laboratories, including:
- Sanitary certification from the EPA
- Germicidal certifications from the independent laboratories Intertek, Gmicro and Lachiver Alimenti
- Qi certification from the Wireless Power Consortium, and the
- Electronic device safety and quality certifications from the FCC, RoHS, California Prop 65, CE, and SGS
Laboratory Reports and Certifications
- EPA Est. No.: 97617-CHN-1
- Intertek Report No.: 200904150GZU-006
- Intertek Report No.: 200904150GZU-007
- Gmicro Report No. 2020FM26836R01D
- Gmicro Report No. 2020FM26835R01D
- Lachiver Alimenti Report No.: 20LA24529