SaniPurse: A Purse that Sanitizes Wherever and

Whenever
Maryam Najeeb

Introduction Materials and Methods Conclusion

Germs collected on daily-use items can become health hazards. When a
person places these items in a bag or purse, they can contaminate other
items they touch. Ideally, people should constantly clean their items
especially the those that come in contact with other things, but that can be
tedious and inconvenient. Researching other methods to combat this
problem is necessary to ensure safety from the germs. The concept of this
project includes the use of UV germicidal lamps to sanitize all the items
and contents in a bag. The UV light is properly incorporated into a portable
purse, that can sanitize items and be used as a purse simultaneously.
The incorporation of the UV light to kill germs is specific to the number of
nanometers it exerts. Nanometers in the range of 200-280nm hold the
ability to destroy viruses, microorganisms, fungi, and bacteria (Khankari
et. al. 2022). The incorporation of these nanometers of UV in an un-
sanitized area can clear all microbes without the active effort in a matter of
minutes. This scientific breakthrough but is rarely used for individual uses.
Objects placed in public centers are heavily exposed to an array of germs
and microbes that eventually can find their way into the human body,
causing the spread of infections and diseases. Germicidal surfaces can
readily spread germs simply with the contact of any other surface. Every
surface to ever exist contains an array of organisms and bacteria that
accumulate and can become hazardous to anyone who comes in contact
with it (Armstrong, 2017).
The purpose of this project is to prevent the spread of germs to the full
capacity if not reduce the exposure of them to the body by incorporating a
200-280nm UV germicidal light into a lightweight, portable purse that can
sanitize whenever and wherever under any circumstance
Objectives
The finalized product was able to reach the desired objectives after
Materials making the prototype and several edits to perfect the final version. The
- 1 yard beige of fabric
- 12in x 12in piece of patterned fabric product incorporates an innovative flap to open the bag, with the
- UV light germicidal sanitizing lamp incorporation of an opening from the top angle and the side to insert
- Velcro the device and use its controls as it sanitizes. The device is able to
- Sewing machine show the timer to sanitize and the user can turn it on and off with the
- Zipper
- Tulle opening from the top. On the bottom side of the flap, instead of allowing
- cardboard the device to attach with the border fabric around the opening for the
Method lamp, tulle (mesh) was incorporated in the opening to secure the device
1. Measure (8) 9 x 4.25 inch (fabric A) pieces of beige fabric along with (4) 9.25 x 9.25in pieces (fabric B) and allow it to stay securely on to the flap while preserving its light
2. Sew together 4 pairs of Fabric A and 2 pairs of Fabric B and make sure to leave an opening to insert cardboard
pieces
emission to effectively sanitize. To make sure that the UV still reaches
3. Construct the pieces to make an open rectangle leaving the top and bottom open the object, the use of the UV light detector card indicated that a
4. Cut 2 more 9x4.25 pieces and sew them together and then cut open a hole for the light to pass and a smaller hole on sufficient amount of nanometers continue to reach the objects and the
another pair of sewed 9x4.25 pieces for the control to be accessed from the top
5. Sew the tulle around the opening for the light to pass after hemming the edges for both openings tulle was not blocking its access to the objects. To further ensure that
6. Attach both rectangle together leaving an opening on the side to insert the device the materials inside received a effective amount of nanometers, a sub-
7. Sew a zipper around the edge of the flap and the structure. Make sure to line the ends evenly
8. Sew the bottom piece of the bag and cut some of the cardboard as needed to run it through the machine. The bottom container made of fabric was placed inside and was made removable
will be reinforced with a cardboard layer on the inside of the bag with the use of Velcro. This was to be able to place the objects that are
9. Attach straps on either side
10.Sew the final unsewed side of the bag between the rectangular fabrics to be sanitized and allow them to be close enough to the lamp to have
11.Sew a rectangular container from fabric and secure it on the inside of the bag with Velcro so it can be removable the effects of sanitation without being too far from the lamp. The
container can be removed and used whenever needed to sanitize closer
to the light for more efficiency.
Testing was made to ensure that the bag can hold its shape, clean the
objects, and be used simultaneously without any direct contact with the
light. After several tests, and ensuring that the contents are sanitized,
the bag could achieve the desired objectives and it can be used as a
portable bag to sanitize objects. Its lightweight design, evaluated
Figure 1: Sketch of the purse to visualize the outcome and final design of the
product. Illustrations include labels to all the parts and function.
engineering, and safety features enable the user to easily sanitize any
object with little effort and full portability. The lamp also features an
UV Light Power Graphs and Finalized Design imperative safety feature that allows the device to temporarily shut off
when the flap is open which significantly minimizes the exposure to the
light when using it, and it also emphasizes the portability aspect of the
UV Light Level Out of 11 Per 2 Minutes of UV Light SPF Power Per 2 Minutes of

6
Exposure
40
Exposure
purse. Following the tests made to use the bag, the conclusion can be
Level of UV light Power out of 11 for 2 minutes of

35 made that the bag efficiently incorporates the device by being able to
SPF level based off 2 minutes of exposure

5
30 sanitize and use the contents simultaneously while making it portable.
-
All figures and graphs created by M. Najeeb

Produce a lightweight contraption that incorporates a removable 4

25
exposure

and portable UV lamp 3 20

15
2

- Incorporate the device so it doesn’t emit the UV rays to directly

References
10

1
touch skin or come in contact in any way with the user 5

0 0
1 inch 2 inches 3 inches 4 inches

-
1 inch 2 inches 3 inches 4 inches

Allow the light to be safe (and automatically close) when the Figure 2: Displayed are the amounts of UV light power measured by SPF
Distance of UV light from sensing card Distance of UV light from UV sensing card

purse is open protection. The larger the level, the higher the light power to kill germs. The objects
in the graph receives an SPF level based on 2 minutes of exposure. The data is
amplified by approximately 2 times depending on how long the exposure is based
- Make a sturdy structure that is not overly structured with hard
on increments of two (ex. 6 minutes and 4 inches away= SPF level 3)
Figure 3:The amount of UV light power an object receives based on 2 minutes of exposure.
Each distance receives a different amount of SPF level based on the amount of time it is Melanie Armstrong. (2017). Germ Wars : The Politics of Microbes and America’s Landscape of Fear. University of
exposed for. The longer the time, the higher the SPF. Note that for this reason the SPF
California Press.
levels specifically show their value for a 2-minute exposure time meaning it would increase
Khankari, K., & Bahnfleth, W. (2022). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of Ultraviolet Germicidal (UV-C)

Figure 4: The
for longer amounts of time

Figure 6: The
to Control the Probability of Infection due to Transmission of Airborne Pathogens. ASHRAE Transactions,
materials but contain enough structure to withhold the weight of finalized SaniPurse is
128(1), 340–347.
SaniPurse, shown open, Michelini, Z., Mazzei, C., Magurano, F., Baggieri, M., Marchi, A., Andreotti, M., Cara, A., Gaudino, A., Mazzalupi, M.,
the device and the contents featuring a
rectangular
displaying the
light that shines
Antonelli, F., Sommella, L., Angeletti, S., Razzano, E., Runge, A., & Petrinca, P. (2021, December 29).
structure, that on the inside and Ultraviolet sanitizing system for sterilization of ambulances fleets and for real-time monitoring of their
- Allow the lamp to be easily removed and placed for easy includes a pocket
on the front and
side along with a
its innovative and
protective
mechanism of
sterilization level. MDPI. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/331

charging and accessibility zipper on the top

to access the
automatically
closing the light
contents inside Figure 5:The SaniPurse pictured from the top angle with the light when the flap is
activated. The display shows the approximate sanitation time; 6 opened.
minutes. The controls are easily accessible from the top