Study on Microbial Deposition and Contamination onto Six Surfaces Commonly Used in Chemical and Microbiological Laboratories

Elena Tamburini, Valentina Donegà, Maria Gabriella Marchetti, Paola Pedrini, Cecilia Monticelli and Andrea Balbo
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Elena Tamburini: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Italy
Valentina Donegà: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Italy
Maria Gabriella Marchetti: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Italy
Paola Pedrini: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Italy
Cecilia Monticelli: Corrosion and Metallurgy Study Centre "A. Daccò", Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 4a, Ferrara 44122, Italy
Andrea Balbo: Corrosion and Metallurgy Study Centre "A. Daccò", Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 4a, Ferrara 44122, Italy

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: The worktops in both chemical and microbiological laboratories are the surfaces most vulnerable to damage and exposure to contamination by indoor pollutants. The rate at which particles are deposited on indoor surfaces is an important parameter to determine human exposure to airborne biological particles. In contrast to what has been established for inorganic pollutants, no limit has been set by law for microbial contamination in indoor air. To our knowledge, a comparative study on the effect of surfaces on the deposition of microbes has not been carried out. An evaluation of the microbial contamination of worktop materials could be of crucial importance, both for safety reasons and for the reliability of tests and experiments that need to be carried out in non-contaminated environments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall microbial contamination (fungi, mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, staphylococci) on six widely used worktop materials in laboratories (glass, stainless steel, fine porcelain stoneware, post-forming laminate, high-performing laminate and enamel steel) and to correlate it with the characteristics of the surfaces. After cleaning, the kinetics of microbial re-contamination were also evaluated for all surfaces.

Keywords: surface contamination; bioaerosol deposition; surface roughness; total microbial counts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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