Experimental study
MA Cui-cui, ZHANG Bao-ying, SUN Hui-hui, DUAN Hong-yang, WANG Yan-yan, SHEN Jin
Objective To explore the feasibility of using phage Phi-X174 as indicator virus for evaluating the effect of air virus disinfection. Methods Phage Phi-X174 was nebulised into the air disinfection chamber. Referring to the requirements for the microbial counts of air indicators in China's air disinfection effect evaluation standards, the key parameters such as sampling solution, phage suspension titre, nebulisation time, nebulisation volume, etc were investigated to determine the generation mode and sampling method of phage aerosols, and the natural settling rates of phage aerosols at different time points were analyzed. Using the preliminarily established method, the killing effect of a photocatalytic disinfection technology on phage in air was evaluated. Results SM buffer was more efficient than PBS for phage Phi-X174 collection. When 1.5 mL of phage suspension with a titre of 3×108 pfu/mL was nebulized, the average phage concentration in the air disinfection chamber was 4.25×106 pfu/m3 with good reproducibility. The average natural settling rates of phage aerosols at 15 min, 30 min, 45 min and 60 min were 28.40%, 51.79%, 68.61% and 79.58%, respectively. The photocatalytic air disinfection technology was applied with high airflow for 45 min or low airflow for 60 min, and the average killing rate of phage could reach 99.9%. Conclusion Aerosol sampling with SM buffer and 1.5 mL of phage suspension with a titre of 3×108 pfu/mL as the nebulisation generating solution can achieve relatively stable concentration of phage aerosols in air for a certain period of time, with better test reproducibility, and higher sampling efficiency, etc., which is basically in line with the requirements of air indicator microorganisms.