Sicks Ben, Gurow Oksana, Sommerfeld Florian, Hessling Martin
Institute of Medical Engineering and Mechatronics, Ulm University of Applied Sciences, 89075 Ulm, Germany.
Microorganisms. 2024 Oct 21;12(10):2099. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12102099.
The contamination of surfaces by antibiotic-resistant pathogens presents an escalating challenge, especially on touchscreens in public settings such as hospitals, airports, and means of transport. Traditional chemical cleaning agents are often ineffective and leave behind harmful residues. Thus, the application of optical radiation is gaining relevance as a rapid, effective, and environmentally friendly disinfection method. This study examines the contamination of publicly accessible touchscreens and the efficacy of an irradiation approach for the radiation disinfection of microorganisms on quartz surfaces with UVC LEDs. In this setup, the LED radiation is laterally coupled into a quartz plate that serves as cover glass of a simplified touchscreen model. The process allows for the irradiation of microorganisms on the surface, without the user being exposed to hazardous radiation. To assess the efficacy of the disinfection process, a range of bacteria, mostly ESKAPE surrogates, such as , , , , and additionally , were spread over a quartz plate with a homebuilt nebulization system. After operating the side-mounted LEDs for 30 s, a reduction in all bacteria except by more than three orders of magnitude was observed. In the case of , a significant reduction was achieved after 60 s ( < 0.05). This result demonstrates the potential of side-mounted UVC LEDs for rapid disinfection of touchscreens between two users and thus for reducing the spread of pathogens without irradiating humans.
抗生素耐药病原体对表面的污染带来了日益严峻的挑战，尤其是在医院、机场和交通工具等公共场所的触摸屏上。传统的化学清洁剂往往效果不佳，还会留下有害残留物。因此，光辐射作为一种快速、有效且环保的消毒方法，其应用正变得越来越重要。本研究考察了公共场所触摸屏的污染情况，以及用紫外线发光二极管对石英表面微生物进行辐射消毒的辐照方法的效果。在该装置中，LED辐射横向耦合到一块用作简化触摸屏模型盖板的石英板中。该过程能够对表面的微生物进行辐照，而不会让用户暴露于有害辐射之下。为评估消毒过程的效果，使用自制雾化系统将一系列细菌（主要是ESKAPE替代菌，如 、 、 、 ，此外还有 ）散布在一块石英板上。在运行侧面安装的LED 30秒后，观察到除 外的所有细菌数量减少了三个数量级以上。对于 ，在60秒后实现了显著减少（ < 0.05）。这一结果证明了侧面安装的紫外线发光二极管在两个用户之间对触摸屏进行快速消毒的潜力，从而在不辐照人体的情况下减少病原体的传播。
