Sunday, 6 December 2015
Ivanka Trump Ballroom (Trump National Doral)
Bacteria that adhere to any equipment can encase themselves in a hydrated matrix of polysaccharide and protein, and form a slimy layer known as a biofilm. Once microbes grow into well-developed biofilms, cleaning and sanitation become difficult. With the advent of moisture and organic media biofilms are formed on the walls of the ice makers and refrigerators. Scientific tests revealed that ice from many restaurants had higher levels of bacteria than samples of water taken from their lavatory bowls. Dirty ice machine causing contamination via ice cubes is also a major health problem in other countries including the United States1. To prevent any potential contamination, the interior surface biofilm microflora in the ice machine must be sanitized regularly. We have analyzed the microbiome from an ice machine in a local restaurant in Amarillo, Texas. The swab-culture showed Gram positive and negative Bacilli, Penicillium chrysogenum, Alternaria alternata conidia, Pithomyces sp. spores in the swab samples collected from the upper wall and the floor of the ice maker. We evaluated the Plasma Nanotechnology applied in the Bi-Polar unit in sanitizing the ice machine surface. The unit creates cold plasma discharge which consists of positive and negative ions from water vapor in the air. Positive and negative ions attach to particles which cluster together to create inactivated larger particles. Two sets of petri-plates were inoculated with sterile cotton swab with the inoculum collected from the ice-maker surface at the time intervals of 24, 48, 72, 120 and 168 hours. Developed colonies were observed after 24 hours of incubation at 37o Celsius. Bacterial/fungal colonies were isolated using a SZ-40 stereo-scope. Prepared slides from bacterial colonies stained with Gram staining and fungi with Lacto-Phenol Cotton Blue stain were observed and micrographed at 100X with a Leica DM-750 microscope. The plotted graph showed a gradual reduction in microflora in the collected swab-cultures on using the sterilizing Bi-Polar unit while the composition and concentration of the microflora remain constant in the control set. After running the unit 168 hours, there was a significant reduction in microbial entities. This technology will prove to be an efficient way of reducing the contaminants in ice and indoor aeroallergens2.
1Dirty Ice-Maker in Houston, Texas: http://www.houstontx.gov/health/Food/slime.htm
2Ghosh, N., M. Veloz, J. Bennert D. Bouyi, and C. (2015) New World of Business with Plasma and AHPCO Nano-Technology in Marketing Air Purifier, Cell Phone and Ice-Maker Sterilizer. Book of Abstracts. International Journal of the Computer, the Internet, and Management (ISSN: 0858-7027) Sec. OST-13.P. 33. IMPACT, Thailand, 3-4 June, 2015
Learning Objectives:
Bacteria that adhere to any equipment can encase themselves in a hydrated matrix of polysaccharide and protein, and form a slimy layer known as a biofilm. Once microbes grow into well-developed biofilms, cleaning and sanitation become difficult. With the advent of moisture and organic media biofilms are formed on the walls of the ice makers and refrigerators. Scientific tests revealed that ice from many restaurants had higher levels of bacteria than samples of water taken from their lavatory bowls. Dirty ice machine causing contamination via ice cubes is also a major health problem in other countries including the United States1. To prevent any potential contamination, the interior surface biofilm microflora in the ice machine must be sanitized regularly. We have analyzed the microbiome from an ice machine in a local restaurant in Amarillo, Texas. The swab-culture showed Gram positive and negative Bacilli, Penicillium chrysogenum, Alternaria alternata conidia, Pithomyces sp. spores in the swab samples collected from the upper wall and the floor of the ice maker. We evaluated the Plasma Nanotechnology applied in the Bi-Polar unit in sanitizing the ice machine surface. The unit creates cold plasma discharge which consists of positive and negative ions from water vapor in the air. Positive and negative ions attach to particles which cluster together to create inactivated larger particles. Two sets of petri-plates were inoculated with sterile cotton swab with the inoculum collected from the ice-maker surface at the time intervals of 24, 48, 72, 120 and 168 hours. Developed colonies were observed after 24 hours of incubation at 37o Celsius. Bacterial/fungal colonies were isolated using a SZ-40 stereo-scope. Prepared slides from bacterial colonies stained with Gram staining and fungi with Lacto-Phenol Cotton Blue stain were observed and micrographed at 100X with a Leica DM-750 microscope. The plotted graph showed a gradual reduction in microflora in the collected swab-cultures on using the sterilizing Bi-Polar unit while the composition and concentration of the microflora remain constant in the control set. After running the unit 168 hours, there was a significant reduction in microbial entities. This technology will prove to be an efficient way of reducing the contaminants in ice and indoor aeroallergens.
Bacteria that adhere to any equipment can encase themselves in a hydrated matrix of polysaccharide and protein, and form a slimy layer known as a biofilm. Once microbes grow into well-developed biofilms, cleaning and sanitation become difficult. With the advent of moisture and organic media biofilms are formed on the walls of the ice makers and refrigerators. Scientific tests revealed that ice from many restaurants had higher levels of bacteria than samples of water taken from their lavatory bowls. Dirty ice machine causing contamination via ice cubes is also a major health problem in other countries including the United States1. To prevent any potential contamination, the interior surface biofilm microflora in the ice machine must be sanitized regularly. We have analyzed the microbiome from an ice machine in a local restaurant in Amarillo, Texas. The swab-culture showed Gram positive and negative Bacilli, Penicillium chrysogenum, Alternaria alternata conidia, Pithomyces sp. spores in the swab samples collected from the upper wall and the floor of the ice maker. We evaluated the Plasma Nanotechnology applied in the Bi-Polar unit in sanitizing the ice machine surface. The unit creates cold plasma discharge which consists of positive and negative ions from water vapor in the air. Positive and negative ions attach to particles which cluster together to create inactivated larger particles. Two sets of petri-plates were inoculated with sterile cotton swab with the inoculum collected from the ice-maker surface at the time intervals of 24, 48, 72, 120 and 168 hours. Developed colonies were observed after 24 hours of incubation at 37o Celsius. Bacterial/fungal colonies were isolated using a SZ-40 stereo-scope. Prepared slides from bacterial colonies stained with Gram staining and fungi with Lacto-Phenol Cotton Blue stain were observed and micrographed at 100X with a Leica DM-750 microscope. The plotted graph showed a gradual reduction in microflora in the collected swab-cultures on using the sterilizing Bi-Polar unit while the composition and concentration of the microflora remain constant in the control set. After running the unit 168 hours, there was a significant reduction in microbial entities. This technology will prove to be an efficient way of reducing the contaminants in ice and indoor aeroallergens.
1Dirty Ice-Maker in Houston, Texas: http://www.houstontx.gov/health/Food/slime.htm