ATP Hygiene Monitoring
Healthy Air uses a device called an ATP meter to measure how clean a surface is. A sample is taken with a special swab, inserted into the ATP meter, and a numerical value is returned. Pre-defined ranges of values determine if the surface is clean or dirty. This provides a quick, easy, and scientific method to determine if a surface is clean and free of bacteria. How it Works ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate) is an energy molecule that is present in all living cells. If it is alive or was once alive, it contains ATP. This includes animal cells (dust, oils), plant cells (soils, oils), and bacterial cells (bacteria, viruses). For this reason, a measurement of ATP correlates to a measurement of how clean a surface is. The less ATP, the less soil and contaminants, and the cleaner the surface is. An ATP meter works by measuring the light produced from a reaction between ATP and an enzyme, luciferase. This enzyme is found in fireflies and is what causes them to light up. This enzyme reacts with ATP in the sample swab, produces a small amount of light invisible to the naked eye, and is read by the ATP meter.
