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Sanitizing efficacy of an environmentally friendly combination hot tub product – eco3spa / KYRIAKI KARAGIANNI
Swansea University Author: KYRIAKI KARAGIANNI
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Copyright: The author, Kyriaki Karagianni, 2021.
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Abstract
Hot tub use is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. However, incorrect maintenance and cleaning can lead to the development of a vast variety of biofilms formed by microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen. The ease of proliferation and challen...
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Swansea
2022
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MSc by Research |
| Supervisor: | Van Keulen, Geertje ; Tizaoui, Chedly ; Phillips, Christopher O. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59100 |
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| Abstract: |
Hot tub use is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. However, incorrect maintenance and cleaning can lead to the development of a vast variety of biofilms formed by microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen. The ease of proliferation and challenging removal of P. aeruginosa biofilms are of especially great importance to immunocompromised and elderly people, who can be vulnerable to such opportunistic infections. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of a newly developed, environmentally friendly water sanitation, biofilm prevention and removal combination product for the domestic hot tub sector. The product includes active oxygen which is combined with a water conditioner and surfactants whose activities were tested against planktonic growth and biofilm formation. E. coli K12 or P. aeruginosa PA01 cells were grown and biofilms established under static conditions at 37 and 25°C which are standard hot tub operational and down-time temperatures, respectively. A range of product concentrations and combinations were assessed over a hot tub-relevant pH range for determining their efficacy of inhibiting planktonic growth and biofilm prevention and removal properties. Results indicated that in standard operating procedure conditions, active oxygen in the recommended concentration for use as well as up to ten times more dilute is effective at preventing planktonic growth and biofilm formation in both species across both temperatures and all pH levels tested. In addition, the combination with the water conditioner appeared to neither inhibit nor enhance active oxygen activity. Light and fluorescence microscopy suggested the active oxygen by itself or in combination with the conditioner may lead to viable-but-non-culturable cell formation. This study has provided novel insights on the activity of active oxygen over a range of three pH and two temperatures, and the results generated may assist in the development of new antimicrobial or disinfecting formulations. Additionally, the industrial sponsor can now make scientifically substantiated claims about the sanitizing efficacy of their products and promote the use of an eco-friendly, non-toxic alternative to chlorine for the domestic hot tub sector. |
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| Item Description: |
A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions.ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1805-9479 |
| Keywords: |
Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, hot tub, active oxygen, chlorine |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |