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Kulišová M, Rabochová M, Lorinčík J, Maťátková O, Brányik T, Hrudka J, Scholtz V, Jarošová Kolouchová I. Comparative assessment of UV-C radiation and non-thermal plasma for inactivation of foodborne fungal spores suspension in vitro. RSC Adv 2024; 14:16835-16845. [PMID: 38784412 PMCID: PMC11114098 DOI: 10.1039/d4ra01689k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Fungal contamination poses a persistent challenge to industries, particularly in food, healthcare, and clinical sectors, due to the remarkable resilience of fungi in withstanding conventional control methods. In this context, our research delves into the comparative efficacy of UV radiation and non-thermal plasma (NTP) on key foodborne fungal contaminants - Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium culmorum, and Fusarium graminearum. The study examined the impact of varying doses of UV radiation on the asexual spores of all mentioned fungal strains. Simultaneously, the study compared the effects of UV radiation and NTP on the metabolic activity of cells after spore germination and their subsequent germination ability. The results revealed that UV-C radiation (254 nm) did not significantly suppress the metabolic activity of cells after spore germination. In contrast, NTP exhibited almost 100% effectiveness on both selected spores and their subsequent germination, except for A. niger. In the case of A. niger, the effectiveness of UV-C and NTP was nearly comparable, showing only a 35% decrease in metabolic activity after 48 hours of germination, while the other strains (A. alternata, F. culmorum, F. graminearum) exhibited a reduction of more than 95%. SEM images illustrate the morphological changes in structure of all tested spores after both treatments. This study addresses a crucial gap in existing literature, offering insights into the adaptation possibilities of treated cells and emphasizing the importance of considering exposure duration and nutrient conditions (introduction of fresh medium). The results highlighted the promising antimicrobial potential of NTP, especially for filamentous fungi, paving the way for enhanced sanitation processes with diverse applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Kulišová
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Department of Biotechnology Technická 5, 166 28, Praha 6 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Rabochová
- Research Centre Rez, Department of Material Analysis Hlavní 130, 250 68, Husinec-Řež Czech Republic
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering nám. Sítná 3105 272 01 Kladno Czech Republic
| | - Jan Lorinčík
- Research Centre Rez, Department of Material Analysis Hlavní 130, 250 68, Husinec-Řež Czech Republic
| | - Olga Maťátková
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Department of Biotechnology Technická 5, 166 28, Praha 6 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Brányik
- Research Institute of Brewing and Malting Lípová 15 120 44 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jan Hrudka
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Department of Physics and Measurements Technická 5, 166 28, Praha 6 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Scholtz
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Department of Physics and Measurements Technická 5, 166 28, Praha 6 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Irena Jarošová Kolouchová
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Department of Biotechnology Technická 5, 166 28, Praha 6 Prague Czech Republic
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2
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Kulišová M, Rabochová M, Lorinčík J, Brányik T, Hrudka J, Scholtz V, Jarošová Kolouchová I. Exploring Non-Thermal Plasma and UV Radiation as Biofilm Control Strategies against Foodborne Filamentous Fungal Contaminants. Foods 2024; 13:1054. [PMID: 38611358 PMCID: PMC11011738 DOI: 10.3390/foods13071054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, non-thermal plasma (NTP) has emerged as a promising tool for decontamination and disinfection within the food industry. Given the increasing resistance of microbial biofilms to conventional disinfectants and their adverse environmental effects, this method has significant potential for eliminating biofilm formation or mitigating the metabolic activity of grown biofilms. A comparative study was conducted evaluating the efficacy of UV radiation and NTP in eradicating mature biofilms of four common foodborne filamentous fungal contaminants: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium culmorum, and Fusarium graminearum. The findings reveal that while UV radiation exhibits variable efficacy depending on the duration of exposure and fungal species, NTP induces substantial morphological alterations in biofilms, disrupting hyphae, and reducing extracellular polymeric substance production, particularly in A. alternata and F. culmorum. Notably, scanning electron microscopy analysis demonstrates significant disruption of the hyphae in NTP-treated biofilms, indicating its ability to penetrate the biofilm matrix, which is a promising outcome for biofilm eradication strategies. The use of NTP could offer a more environmentally friendly and potentially more effective alternative to traditional disinfection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Kulišová
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Michaela Rabochová
- Department of Material Analysis, Research Centre Rez, Hlavní 130, 250 68 Husinec-Řež, Czech Republic; (M.R.); (J.L.)
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, nám. Sítná 3105, 272 01 Kladno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Lorinčík
- Department of Material Analysis, Research Centre Rez, Hlavní 130, 250 68 Husinec-Řež, Czech Republic; (M.R.); (J.L.)
| | - Tomáš Brányik
- Research Institute of Brewing and Malting, Lípová 15, 120 44 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Jan Hrudka
- Department of Physics and Measurements, Prague, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic; (J.H.); (V.S.)
| | - Vladimír Scholtz
- Department of Physics and Measurements, Prague, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic; (J.H.); (V.S.)
| | - Irena Jarošová Kolouchová
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic;
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3
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Ren C, Zhu HC, Wang J, Feng Z, Chen G, Haghighat F, Cao SJ. Intelligent operation, maintenance, and control system for public building: Towards infection risk mitigation and energy efficiency. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY 2023; 93:104533. [PMID: 36941886 PMCID: PMC10017170 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2023.104533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
During the post-COVID-19 era, it is important but challenging to synchronously mitigate the infection risk and optimize the energy savings in public buildings. While, ineffective control of ventilation and purification systems can result in increased energy consumption and cross-contamination. This paper is to develop intelligent operation, maintenance, and control systems by coupling intelligent ventilation and air purification systems (negative ion generators). Optimal deployment of sensors is determined by Fuzzy C-mean (FCM), based on which CO2 concentration fields are rapidly predicted by combing the artificial neural network (ANN) and self-adaptive low-dimensional linear model (LLM). Negative oxygen ion and particle concentrations are simulated with different numbers of negative ion generators. Optimal ventilation rates and number of negative ion generators are decided. A visualization platform is established to display the effects of ventilation control, epidemic prevention, and pollutant removal. The rapid prediction error of LLM-based ANN for CO2 concentration was below 10% compared with the simulation. Fast decision reduced CO2 concentration below 1000 ppm, infection risk below 1.5%, and energy consumption by 27.4%. The largest removal efficiency was 81% when number of negative ion generators was 10. This work can promote intelligent operation, maintenance, and control systems considering infection prevention and energy sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Ren
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Hao-Cheng Zhu
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Junqi Wang
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China
| | - Zhuangbo Feng
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Gang Chen
- The Third Construction Co., Ltd of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, Nanjing, 210046, China
| | - Fariborz Haghighat
- Energy and Environment Group, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Shi-Jie Cao
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
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4
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Thery T, Beney L, Grangeteau C, Dupont S. Sporicidal efficiency of an ultra-high irradiance (UHI) near UV/visible light treatment: An example of application to infected mandarins. Food Control 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.109568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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5
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Ren C, Haghighat F, Feng Z, Kumar P, Cao SJ. Impact of ionizers on prevention of airborne infection in classroom. BUILDING SIMULATION 2022; 16:749-764. [PMID: 36474607 PMCID: PMC9716175 DOI: 10.1007/s12273-022-0959-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Infectious diseases (e.g., coronavirus disease 2019) dramatically impact human life, economy and social development. Exploring the low-cost and energy-saving approaches is essential in removing infectious virus particles from indoors, such as in classrooms. The application of air purification devices, such as negative ion generators (ionizers), gains popularity because of the favorable removal capacity for particles and the low operation cost. However, small and portable ionizers have potential disadvantages in the removal efficiency owing to the limited horizontal diffusion of negative ions. This study aims to investigate the layout strategy (number and location) of ionizers based on the energy-efficient natural ventilation in the classroom to improve removal efficiency (negative ions to particles) and decrease infection risk. Three infected students were considered in the classroom. The simulations of negative ion and particle concentrations were performed and validated by the experiment. Results showed that as the number of ionizers was 4 and 5, the removal performance was largely improved by combining ionizer with natural ventilation. Compared with the scenario without an ionizer, the scenario with 5 ionizers largely increased the average removal efficiency from around 20% to 85% and decreased the average infection risk by 23%. The setup with 5 ionizers placed upstream of the classroom was determined as the optimal layout strategy, particularly when the location and number of the infected students were unknown. This work can provide a guideline for applying ionizers to public buildings when natural ventilation is used. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL ESM the Appendix is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12273-022-0959-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Ren
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096 China
| | - Fariborz Haghighat
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096 China
- Energy and Environment Group, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, H3G 1M8 Canada
| | - Zhuangbo Feng
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096 China
| | - Prashant Kumar
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096 China
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), School of Sustainability, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH UK
- Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH UK
| | - Shi-Jie Cao
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096 China
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), School of Sustainability, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH UK
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6
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Inactivation of airborne microbial contaminants by a heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system. JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING 2022; 50:104157. [PMCID: PMC8813195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increasing interest in controlling airborne virus transmission during the operation of air-conditioning systems. Therefore, beyond an examination of the ability of liquid-desiccant material itself to inactivate microbes, a heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system was proposed and constructed to experimentally investigate the effect of liquid-desiccant solution on the inactivation of airborne bacteria and fungi in various air-conditioning processes. The proposed system comprises a liquid-desiccant unit to dehumidify or humidify process air using a desiccant-solution and heat-pump unit to cool or heat it and accommodate solution thermal loads. The decrease in the concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi before and after passing through the system (i.e., inactivation efficiency) were compared for the base, summer, and winter operating modes. The results indicated that airborne fungi were less inactivated than bacteria because they possess more stress-resistant cellular structures that resist inactivation. During the air-conditioning processes in both the summer and winter operating modes, the bacterial and fungal inactivation efficiencies improved compared to the base mode owing to the contact with desiccant solution. The higher solution flow rate and solution temperature improved the bacterial inactivation efficiency by 27% for the winter compared to the summer mode. Conversely, because of possible growth of fungi in the heated and humidified supply air in the winter, the fungal inactivation efficiency improved by only 1.5% for the winter compared to the summer mode. In conclusion, the proposed system can contribute to control the airborne transmission of microbial contaminants while operating air-conditioning systems.
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7
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Srivastava S, Zhao X, Manay A, Chen Q. Effective ventilation and air disinfection system for reducing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection risk in office buildings. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY 2021; 75:103408. [PMID: 34603942 PMCID: PMC8479514 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing amount of evidence has suggested that the virus can be transmitted through the air inside buildings. The ventilation system used to create the indoor environment would facilitate the transmission of the airborne infectious diseases. However, the existing ventilation systems in most buildings cannot supply sufficient clean outdoor air for diluting the virus concentration. To reduce the airborne infection risk and minimize energy consumption, especially in existing buildings with well-mixed ventilation systems, this investigation used an ultraviolet-C (UV-C) air disinfection device (Rheem's third generation products, RM3) with 99.9% disinfection efficiency to clean air carrying the COVID-19 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2) which could help promote environmental sustainability and create healthy cities. This investigation assessed the impact of the RM3 UV-C units on the infection risk, the number of RM3 UV-C units required, and the strategy for decreasing the infection risk, with the use of computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations. An actual office building with a combination of individual offices and workstations was selected as an example for the research. According to the numerical results, the best strategy would be to use a combination of 100% outside air and UV-C in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) ducts with air disinfected by the RM3 UV-C units. The infection risk in the office building could thus be reduced to a negligible level. These findings could provide theoretical basis and engineering application basis for COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubham Srivastava
- Water Heater Division, Rheem Manufacturing Company Inc, Atlanta, GA 30328, USA
| | - Xingwang Zhao
- School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Ati Manay
- Water Heater Division, Rheem Manufacturing Company Inc, Atlanta, GA 30328, USA
| | - Qingyan Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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8
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Phadke KS, Madival DG, Venkataraman J, Kundu D, Ramanujan KS, Holla N, Arakeri J, Tomar G, Datta S, Ghatak A. Novel non intrusive continuous use ZeBox technology to trap and kill airborne microbes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22779. [PMID: 34815494 PMCID: PMC8610990 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02184-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Preventing nosocomial infection is a major unmet need of our times. Existing air decontamination technologies suffer from demerits such as toxicity of exposure, species specificity, noxious gas emission, environment-dependent performance and high power consumption. Here, we present a novel technology called “ZeBox” that transcends the conventional limitations and achieves high microbicidal efficiency. In ZeBox, a non-ionizing electric field extracts naturally charged microbes from flowing air and deposits them on engineered microbicidal surfaces. The surface’s three dimensional topography traps the microbes long enough for them to be inactivated. The electric field and chemical surfaces synergistically achieve rapid inactivation of a broad spectrum of microbes. ZeBox achieved near complete kill of airborne microbes in challenge tests (5–9 log reduction) and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$>90\%$$\end{document}>90% efficiency in a fully functional stem cell research facility in the presence of humans. Thus, ZeBox fulfills the dire need for a real-time, continuous, safe, trap-and-kill air decontamination technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kruttika S Phadke
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India.,Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Deepak G Madival
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India.,Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | | | - Debosmita Kundu
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India
| | - K S Ramanujan
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India
| | - Nisha Holla
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India
| | - Jaywant Arakeri
- Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Gaurav Tomar
- Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Santanu Datta
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India.,Bugworks Research, Bangalore, 560066, India
| | - Arindam Ghatak
- Biomoneta Research Private Limited, Bangalore, 560065, India.
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9
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Positive and Negative Ions Potently Inhibit the Viability of Airborne Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria. Microbiol Spectr 2021; 9:e0065121. [PMID: 34756075 PMCID: PMC8579920 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00651-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Positive and negative ions (PAIs and NAIs, respectively) generated by air ionizers curb indoor spread of airborne pathogens through cellular oxidative damage. Thus, here, we asked whether ion exposure of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria—either plated on agar or trapped in air filters—would affect their viability and whether this effect would be influenced by variations in bacterial type and load, action area, distance from the ion generator, exposure time, or filter type. We selected these two vegetative bacterium species because, besides being representative of Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains, respectively, they are widely recognized as the two most common airborne pathogens. We observed a robust ion inhibitory effect on the viability of free bacteria regardless of the experimental condition employed. Specifically, 12-h ion exposure of plated S. aureus and E. coli, at either 5 cm or 10 cm from the ion source, reduced bacterial viability by ∼95% and 70%, respectively. Furthermore, 3-h ion exposure was sufficient to reduce the viability of both bacterial species trapped in filters. Our results showing a strong antibacterial activity of PAI and NAI under all experimental conditions tested further support the use of air ionizers for preventing and/or containing airborne infection in domestic and nondomestic settings. IMPORTANCE Indoor air is a well-established vehicle for direct and indirect spread of a wide variety of human pathogens—as bioaerosols are composed of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other types of organisms—that may trigger some pathologies. Plasmacluster ionizers are known for their ability to generate positively or negatively charged air ions (PAIs and NAIs, respectively) that can kill/inactivate indoor airborne pathogens, through oxidative stress-induced damage, in various environments. Given these premises, the aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria exposed to PAI and NAI under different experimental variables such as bacterial type and load, action area, distance from the ion generator, ion exposure time, and filter type. Altogether, our findings, demonstrating a remarkable PAI and NAI antibacterial activity, stress the importance of using air ionizers to prevent indoor airborne infection.
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10
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Feng Z, Cao SJ, Haghighat F. Removal of SARS-CoV-2 using UV+Filter in built environment. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY 2021; 74:103226. [PMID: 34367884 PMCID: PMC8329429 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Air cleaning is an effective and reliable method in indoor airborne SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona-Virus 2) control, with ability of aerosol removal or disinfection. However, traditional air cleaning systems (e.g. fibrous filter, electrostatic removal system) have some risks in operation process, including re-aerosolization and electric breakdown. To avoid these risks, the current study proposed an UV+Filter (ultraviolet and fibrous pleated filter) system to efficiently capture airborne SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and deactivate them in filter medium. It is challenging to quantitatively design UV+Filter due to complex characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols (e.g. aerodynamic size, biological susceptibility) and hybrid filtration/disinfection processes. This study numerically investigated the overall performances of different air cleaning devices (e.g. Fibrous-filter, UV+Filter, two-stage ESP (electrostatic precipitator) et al.) for control of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and compared them in term of filtration efficiency, energy consumption and secondary pollution. The prediction of developed models was validated with the experimental data from literature. UV+Filter is the most reliable and safest, while its energy consumption is highest. The newly proposed design method of air cleaning systems could provide essential tools for airborne diseases control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuangbo Feng
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Shi-Jie Cao
- School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom
| | - Fariborz Haghighat
- Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
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11
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Rathnasinghe R, Jangra S, Miorin L, Schotsaert M, Yahnke C, Garcίa-Sastre A. The virucidal effects of 405 nm visible light on SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19470. [PMID: 34593848 PMCID: PMC8484654 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97797-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The germicidal potential of specific wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum is an area of growing interest. While ultra-violet (UV) based technologies have shown satisfactory virucidal potential, the photo-toxicity in humans coupled with UV associated polymer degradation limit their use in occupied spaces. Alternatively, longer wavelengths with less irradiation energy such as visible light (405 nm) have largely been explored in the context of bactericidal and fungicidal applications. Such studies indicated that 405 nm mediated inactivation is caused by the absorbance of porphyrins within the organism creating reactive oxygen species which result in free radical damage to its DNA and disruption of cellular functions. The virucidal potential of visible-light based technologies has been largely unexplored and speculated to be ineffective given the lack of porphyrins in viruses. The current study demonstrated increased susceptibility of lipid-enveloped respiratory pathogens of importance such as SARS-CoV-2 (causative agent of COVID-19) and influenza A virus to 405 nm, visible light in the absence of exogenous photosensitizers thereby indicating a potential alternative porphyrin-independent mechanism of visible light mediated viral inactivation. These results were obtained using less than expected irradiance levels which are considered safe for humans and commercially achievable. Our results support further exploration of the use of visible light technology for the application of continuous decontamination in occupied areas within hospitals and/or infectious disease laboratories, specifically for the inactivation of respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raveen Rathnasinghe
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Sonia Jangra
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Lisa Miorin
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Michael Schotsaert
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | | | - Adolfo Garcίa-Sastre
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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12
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Elsaid AM, Ahmed MS. Indoor Air Quality Strategies for Air-Conditioning and Ventilation Systems with the Spread of the Global Coronavirus (COVID-19) Epidemic: Improvements and Recommendations. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 199:111314. [PMID: 34048748 PMCID: PMC8146370 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus has come to the world and spread with great wide among the countries of the world and has resulted in numerous infections that exceeded 167,181,023 million patients and are close to 3.5 deaths by September 2021. It also brought with it panic and fear, halted many activities, and led to the decline of the global economy. It changed human behavior and forced people to change their lifestyles to avoid infection. One of the most sectors that must be taken into consideration through pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) around the globe is the air conditioning systems. The HVAC systems depend on the air as a heat transfer medium. The air contains a group of pollutants, viruses, and bacteria, and it affects and destroys human life. The air filter plays a major role as an important component in the air conditioning systems. Thus, it requires more effort by researchers to improve its design to prevent the ultra-size of particles loaded with coronavirus (COVID-19). This paper provides insight into the design of existing combined air-conditioners on their suitability and their impact on the spread of the hybrid coronavirus epidemic and review efforts to obtain a highly efficient air filter to get rid of super-sized particles for protection against epidemic infection. In addition, important guideline recommendations have been made to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to obtain indoor air quality in air-conditioned places.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashraf Mimi Elsaid
- RHVAC Department of Technology, Faculty of Technology and Education, Helwan University, Cairo, 11282, Egypt.
| | - M Salem Ahmed
- Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Faculty of Technology and Education, Sohag University, Egypt
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Joubert A, Abd Ali SAZ, Frossard M, Andrès Y. Dust and microbial filtration performance of regular and antimicrobial HVAC filters in realistic conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:39907-39919. [PMID: 33765264 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13330-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Two polypropylene HVAC electret filters: a regular filter and an antimicrobial filter containing zinc pyrithione (ZPT), were compared for filtration performance. The study was conducted over 7 months in realistic conditions with semi-urban outdoor air. Several parameters were monitored over the study period: the average temperature was about 20 °C and relative humidity about 60%, the average inlet concentration of cultivable microorganisms was 50 CFU m-3, the average inlet concentration of particles was 10 μg m-3, the filter pressure drop increased moderately by about 30 Pa, and the particle collection efficiency of soda fluorescein (median diameter 0.35 μm) decreased in the first half of the study period by about 30% and then stabilized. The microbial concentration on the filters was quantified every 2 months using an innovative methodology based on media coupons in conjunction with microorganism quantification by CFU counting, with 5 culture media favorable to bacteria and/or fungi growth. The microbial concentrations on the filters were between 100 and 2000 CFU cm-2. The antimicrobial effect of zinc pyrithione was confirmed by the fungi cultivated with DRBC agar: no effects in the level of filter clogging were revealed in the range studied. The high statistical deviation in the results regarding the inhibiting effect of zinc pyrithione on bacteria prevents any conclusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Joubert
- IMT Atlantique, GEPEA, CNRS UMR 6144, BP 20722, 44307, Nantes cedex3, France.
| | | | - Miora Frossard
- IMT Atlantique, GEPEA, CNRS UMR 6144, BP 20722, 44307, Nantes cedex3, France
| | - Yves Andrès
- IMT Atlantique, GEPEA, CNRS UMR 6144, BP 20722, 44307, Nantes cedex3, France
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Agarwal N, Meena CS, Raj BP, Saini L, Kumar A, Gopalakrishnan N, Kumar A, Balam NB, Alam T, Kapoor NR, Aggarwal V. Indoor air quality improvement in COVID-19 pandemic: Review. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY 2021; 70:102942. [PMID: 33889481 PMCID: PMC8049211 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.102942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The advent of COVID-19 has impinged millions of people. The increased concern of the virus spread in confined spaces due to meteorological factors has sequentially fostered the need to improve indoor air quality. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to review control measures and preventive sustainable solutions for the future that can deliberately help in bringing down the impact of declined air quality and prevent future biological attacks from affecting the occupant's health. METHODOLOGY Anontology chart is constructed based on the set objectives and review of all the possible measures to improve the indoor air quality taking into account the affecting parameters has been done. OBSERVATIONS An integrated approach considering non-pharmaceutical and engineering control measures together for a healthy indoor environment should be contemplated rather than discretizing the available solutions. Maintaining social distance by reducing occupant density and implementing a modified ventilation system with advance filters for decontamination of viral load can help in sustaining healthy indoor air quality. CONCLUSION The review paper in the main, provides a brief overview of all the improvement techniques bearing in mind thermal comfort and safety of occupants and looks for a common ground for all the technologies based on literature survey and offers recommendation for a sustainable future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nehul Agarwal
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- School of Energy and Environment, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, 147001, India
| | - Chandan Swaroop Meena
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Binju P Raj
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- School of Energy and Environment, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, 147001, India
| | - Lohit Saini
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- School of Energy and Environment, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, 147001, India
| | - Ashok Kumar
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - N Gopalakrishnan
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Anuj Kumar
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Nagesh Babu Balam
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Tabish Alam
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Nishant Raj Kapoor
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Vivek Aggarwal
- CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, 247667, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
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Farag MA, Mesak MA, Saied DB, Ezzelarab NM. Uncovering the dormant food hazards, a review of foodborne microbial spores' detection and inactivation methods with emphasis on their application in the food industry. Trends Food Sci Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2020.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Effect of pasteurization on Aspergillus fumigatus in apple juice: Analysis of the thermal and electric effects. Int J Food Microbiol 2020; 338:108993. [PMID: 33310209 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Fungal spoilage in fruit juices is a currently relevant issue considering that recent reports have found unacceptable fungal levels even after traditional pasteurization processes. Ohmic heating demonstrated to be a good alternative process to conventional pasteurization, as it can promote higher heating rates and additional cell damage in some scenarios (nonthermal effects). However, the application of ohmic processing for fungi inactivation has not been properly investigated. The objective of this study was to analyze the inactivation of Aspergillus fumigatus, a highly distributed fungi species, in apple juice by ohmic and conventional heating at 75, 80, 85, 90 and 94 °C. Predictive primary and secondary models were fitted and the Weibull-Mafart models were the most accurate to describe the experimental behavior considering the statistical indices applied. Statistical differences between both thermal processes were found in the three lower analyzed temperatures (75, 80 and 85 °C), which is possibly related to nonthermal effects. When ohmic heating was applied, processing time was up to 23% shorter. The resulted model was successfully validated in two distinct temperatures (83 and 92 °C) and could be applied to obtain adequate processing times for apple juice pasteurization. This study contributes to deepen the knowledge concerning the use of ohmic heating for fungi inactivation.
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