Levels of fungi growing on insulation within air-handling units (AHUs) in an office building and levels of airborne fungi within AHUs were measured before the use of germicidal UV light and again after 4 months of operation. The fungal levels following UV operation were significantly lower than the levels in control AHUs.

Quaternary ammonium compounds, effective as sanitizing agents for food plant equipment under certain conditions, are not well suited as sanitizers for water of high mineral content. Mueller and Seeley (1951) have demonstrated under controlled conditions that various metallic cations can decrease the germicidal action of a quaternary in solution. Knowledge of how such interference takes place co...

1. Far more information about the effect of serum or other substances upon the germicidal action of soaps can be obtained by determining the germicidal titers over a wide range of pH than by determining the titer at a single pH. In this way a characteristic curve for each test substance is obtained. 2. The curve for a particular concentration of serum bears a definite relationship to the curve ...

There is growing interest in using continuous, low-irradiance germicidal ultraviolet (UV) radiation to prevent bacterial attachment and growth on surfaces. However, inactivation kinetics at those low (μW cm −2 ) irradiance values are well understood.

In the present study, the use of silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag2O NPs) synthesized using Ficus benghalensis prop root extract (FBPRE) as a reducing and stabilizing agent is reported and evaluated for its antibacterial activity against dental bacterial strains. The effects of pH, extract concentration, metal ion concentration, and contact time were studied to confirm the optimum production of Ag...

After decades of neglect, the resurgence of tuberculosis in the United States between 1985 and 1992 renewed interest in the use of upper room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation to interrupt the transmission of airborne infections. More recently the bioterrorism threat and the appearance of new pathogens with the potential for airborne spread, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), ha...