Nonthermal plasma air disinfection for the inactivation of airborne microorganisms in an experimental chamber and indoor air.
J Appl Microbiol
; 135(4)2024 Apr 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38520159
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
Airborne transmission of diseases presents a serious threat to human health, so effective air disinfection technology to eliminate microorganisms in indoor air is very important. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a non-thermal plasma (NTP) air disinfector in both laboratory experiments and real environments. METHODS ANDRESULTS:
An experimental chamber was artificially polluted with a bioaerosol containing bacteria or viruses. Additionally, classroom environments with and without people present were used in field tests. Airborne microbial and particle concentrations were quantified. A 3.0 log10 reduction in the initial load was achieved when a virus-containing aerosol was disinfected for 60 min and a bacteria-containing aerosol was disinfected for 90 min. In the field test, when no people were present in the room, NTP disinfection decreased the airborne microbial and particle concentrations (P < 0.05). When people were present in the room, their constant activity continuously contaminated the indoor air, but all airborne indicators decreased (P < 0.05) except for planktonic bacteria (P = 0.094).CONCLUSIONS:
NTP effectively inactivated microorganisms and particles in indoor air.Key words
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacteria
/
Disinfection
/
Air Pollution, Indoor
/
Air Microbiology
/
Plasma Gases
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Year:
2024
Type:
Article