2
INS0228 July 2020
1 .1
W h a t i s A TP?
Adenosine
Triphosphat e
( ATP)
is
an
organic m olecule t hat is used by living
cells as t he m ain source of energy.
Anim al, plant , bact erial, yeast , and m old
cells produce and break down ATP in order
t o drive a num ber of biological processes.
I t is t he m ain energy - t ransfer m olecule in
t he cell. The presence of ATP on a surface indicat es t hat t he surface
has not been adequat ely cleaned and has t he pot ent ial t o harbor and
support bact erial growt h. The residue m ay also cont ain hazardous
m at erial including pot ent ial allergens. Therefore, ATP is an ideal
indicat or of surface cleanliness.
1 .2
H o w D o e s t h e Lu m i n o m e t e r W o r k ?
The lum inom et er det ect s ATP using a chem ical react ion.
Luciferin/ Luci ATP = Light
A sam ple is collect ed using a Hygiena ATP device ( see sect ion
1.4
) .
Surface t est s com e wit h a buffer m oist ened swab bud t hat aids in t he
rem oval of any biological m at erial ( ATP) on eit her a wet or dry
surface. Once t he sam ple is collect ed and exposed t o t he chem ist ry
( buffer) in t he Hygiena device, t he ATP cont ained inside t he collect ed
cells will be released. ATP released from inside t hese cells, along wit h
any free ATP picked up from t he surface by t he swab, is now available
t o react wit h t he chem ist ry in t he bulb of t he device. When t he
Luciferin/ Luciferase enzym es are exposed t o ATP, light is produced.
The light is det ect ed and m easured by t he lum inom et er . The am ount
of light det ect ed is direct ly proport ional t o t he quant it y of ATP
collect ed and accordingly is proport ional t o t he am ount of residue in
t he t est ed sam ple. The higher t he reading, t he higher t he am ount of
cont am inat ion in t he sam ple.
1 .3
W h a t i s a n RLU?
The lum inom et er displays result s in Relat ive Light Unit ( RLU) values.
The light produced from t he Luciferin/ Luciferase and ATP react ion in
t he swab is em it t ed in t he form of phot ons. A phot on is an elem ent ary
part icle and t he basic unit of light . The lum inom et er det ect s t hese
phot ons and displays t hem direct ly as RLU values. The m ore light
det ect ed by t he lum inom eter , t he great er t he RLU value. The
quant it at ive
RLU
reading
is
t hen
com pared
against
user
program m able t hresholds t o prov ide an overall qualit at ive pass
,
caut ion
or fail
result .
The lum inom et er det ect s tot al ATP, not j ust ATP from bact eria, yeast ,
and m old but also t he ATP from any t hing organic in t he sam ple.
