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Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities

Received: 14 December 2023    Accepted: 2 January 2024    Published: 18 January 2024
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Abstract

Recently, air contamination by microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses, has emerged as a critical issue in public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of biological contamination on surfaces of equipment and furniture for sports facilities and to evaluate the performance of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), in reducing biological contamination. Two facilities, including a golf practice center and a table tennis club, were selected. Since all living cells contain adenosine triphosphate (ATP), it is possible to look for changes in ATP levels on the surface as an indication of biological contamination. The ATP levels were measured from surface samples collected from equipment and furniture for sports facilities and expressed as Relative Light Units (RLU). The ATP tests were conducted before and after the application of CAP. In the golf practice center, ATP levels before the application of CAP ranged from 1,853 to 2,793 RLU, well exceeding the guideline of 500 RLU recommended. When CAP was applied, all the values, except one case, decreased to below 500 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination, expressed as ATP level, was 80.2%. In the table tennis club, the ATP levels before CAP was applied ranged from 656 to 2,268 RLU, exceeding 500 RLU. When CAP was applied, the values decreased to levels below 574 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination in the table tennis club was 65.5%. In both facilities, the overall reductions of ATP levels were extremely significant. (p < 0.0001) It is concluded that the cold atmospheric plasma is a useful, promising technique to control biological contamination in sports facilities.

Published in Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11
Page(s) 1-5
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cold Atmospheric Plasma, Sports Facility, Biological Contamination, Surface Contamination

References
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[3] Cho, J., Min, K., Paik, N. Temporal Variation of Airborne Fungi Concentrations and Related Factors in Subway Stations in Seoul, Korea. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 2006, 209(3), 249-55. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2005.10.001. Epub 2006 Jan 10. PMID: 16410055.
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[5] Paik, N., Heo, S., Lee, I. Inactivation of Indoor Airborne Fungi Using Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg. 2019, 29(3), 351-357. doi: org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2019.29.3.351.
[6] Kim, K., Paik, N., Kim, Y., Yoo, K. Bactericidal Efficacy of Non-thermal DBD Plasma on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg. 2018, 28(1), 61-79. doi: org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2018.28.1.61.
[7] Lee, N., Park, S., Kim, J., Kim, K., Kim, D. Inactivation Efficacy of a Non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Generator against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Korean J Healthc Assoc Infect Control Prev. 2018, 23(2), 80-85. doi: org/10.14192/kjhaicp.2018.23.2.80.
[8] Son, E., Kim, Y., Paik, N., Lee, I., Kim, E., Park, H., Lee, J. Effect of Non-Thermal Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma by Air Volume against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg. 2019, 29(3), 414-419. doi: org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2019.29.3.414.
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[11] Nante N, Ceriale E, Messina G, Lenzi, D., Manzi, P. Effectiveness of ATP bioluminescence to assess hospital cleaning: a review. The Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. 2017. https://doi-org-ssl.libproxy.snu.ac.kr/10.15167/2421-248/jpmh2017.58.2.549
[12] 3M Science. Setting Pass/Fail Limits for the 3M™ Clean-Trace™ Hygiene Monitoring and Management System. clean-trace-setting-pass-fail-limits-pdf-lm1-implementation.pdf
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[14] Van Arkel, A., Willemsen, I., Kilsdonk-Bode, L., Vlamings-Wagenaars, S., Van Oudheusden, A., De Waegemaeker, P., Leroux-Roels, I., Verelst, M., Maas, E., Van Oosten, A., Willemse, P., Van Asselen, E., Klomp-Berens, E., Franssen, K., Van Cauwenberg, E., Schweitzer, V., Kluytmans, J.. ATP measurement as an objective method to measure environmental contamination in 9 hospitals in the Dutch/Belgian border area. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2020; 9: 77. doi: 10.1186/s13756-020-00730-9.
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  • APA Style

    Paik, N., Kim, Y., Kim, N., Kim, Y. (2024). Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 10(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11

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    ACS Style

    Paik, N.; Kim, Y.; Kim, N.; Kim, Y. Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities. J. Health Environ. Res. 2024, 10(1), 1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11

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    AMA Style

    Paik N, Kim Y, Kim N, Kim Y. Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities. J Health Environ Res. 2024;10(1):1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11,
      author = {Namwon Paik and Yonghee Kim and Namkyung Kim and Youngmin Kim},
      title = {Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities},
      journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-5},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20241001.11},
      abstract = {Recently, air contamination by microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses, has emerged as a critical issue in public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of biological contamination on surfaces of equipment and furniture for sports facilities and to evaluate the performance of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), in reducing biological contamination. Two facilities, including a golf practice center and a table tennis club, were selected. Since all living cells contain adenosine triphosphate (ATP), it is possible to look for changes in ATP levels on the surface as an indication of biological contamination. The ATP levels were measured from surface samples collected from equipment and furniture for sports facilities and expressed as Relative Light Units (RLU). The ATP tests were conducted before and after the application of CAP. In the golf practice center, ATP levels before the application of CAP ranged from 1,853 to 2,793 RLU, well exceeding the guideline of 500 RLU recommended. When CAP was applied, all the values, except one case, decreased to below 500 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination, expressed as ATP level, was 80.2%. In the table tennis club, the ATP levels before CAP was applied ranged from 656 to 2,268 RLU, exceeding 500 RLU. When CAP was applied, the values decreased to levels below 574 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination in the table tennis club was 65.5%. In both facilities, the overall reductions of ATP levels were extremely significant. (p < 0.0001) It is concluded that the cold atmospheric plasma is a useful, promising technique to control biological contamination in sports facilities.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Decrease Biological Contamination on Surfaces of Equipment and Furniture for Indoor Sports Facilities
    AU  - Namwon Paik
    AU  - Yonghee Kim
    AU  - Namkyung Kim
    AU  - Youngmin Kim
    Y1  - 2024/01/18
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11
    T2  - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
    JF  - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
    JO  - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 5
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-3592
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20241001.11
    AB  - Recently, air contamination by microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses, has emerged as a critical issue in public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of biological contamination on surfaces of equipment and furniture for sports facilities and to evaluate the performance of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), in reducing biological contamination. Two facilities, including a golf practice center and a table tennis club, were selected. Since all living cells contain adenosine triphosphate (ATP), it is possible to look for changes in ATP levels on the surface as an indication of biological contamination. The ATP levels were measured from surface samples collected from equipment and furniture for sports facilities and expressed as Relative Light Units (RLU). The ATP tests were conducted before and after the application of CAP. In the golf practice center, ATP levels before the application of CAP ranged from 1,853 to 2,793 RLU, well exceeding the guideline of 500 RLU recommended. When CAP was applied, all the values, except one case, decreased to below 500 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination, expressed as ATP level, was 80.2%. In the table tennis club, the ATP levels before CAP was applied ranged from 656 to 2,268 RLU, exceeding 500 RLU. When CAP was applied, the values decreased to levels below 574 RLU. The overall reduction of biological contamination in the table tennis club was 65.5%. In both facilities, the overall reductions of ATP levels were extremely significant. (p < 0.0001) It is concluded that the cold atmospheric plasma is a useful, promising technique to control biological contamination in sports facilities.
    
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
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Author Information
  • Department of Environmental Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; Shinyoung Airtech, Institute of Air Sciences, Sungnam, South Korea

  • Shinyoung Airtech, Institute of Air Sciences, Sungnam, South Korea

  • Shinyoung Airtech, Institute of Air Sciences, Sungnam, South Korea

  • Shinyoung Airtech, Institute of Air Sciences, Sungnam, South Korea

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