Allergies to things like cats and dust mites are tough to mitigate because the allergens can stick around long after the animals are gone.
People with allergies can suffer long after the offending organism has been removed. Researchers, however, are now envisioning a future with portable devices that can clear a room of airborne allergens using ultraviolet (UV) light.
In new research published in the journal ACS ES&T Air, researchers have found a way to change the structure of allergy-causing airborne proteins with UV light. This approach reveals a better alternative to months of cleaning carpets and cats, and in extreme cases, it could even save lives.
“We have found that we can use a passive, generally safe ultraviolet light treatment to quickly inactivate airborne allergens,” Tess Eidem, a microbiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder and a co-author of the study, said in a university statement. “We believe this could be another tool for helping people fight allergens in their home, schools or other places where allergens accumulate indoors.”You’re not allergic to cats
If you’re allergic to things like cats, dogs, mold, or plants, you’re probably not allergic to those organisms per se, but to a protein they emit. Cats, for example, emit a protein in their saliva called Fel d1 that, when they lick themselves, becomes airborne in tiny flakes of dead skin. When we breathe in allergens like these particles, our immune system creates antibodies that lock onto the protein’s special 3D structure, triggering an allergic reaction.
