奈米技術防疫護膜應用，於某醫院電梯環境之潔淨確效研究

Cleanliness verification of nano antibacterial pads used in hospitals

電梯是現今醫療院所或一般建物中，水平及垂直空間感染控制的重要樞紐。電梯環境如無法定期清消，最常接觸的按鍵區容易成為微生物孳生的溫床，而使用表面抗菌產品可能是醫療環境有效預防微生物傳播的方法。本研究將「奈米技術防疫護膜」實際運用於台灣中部某醫學中心電梯按鍵區，觀察抑制微生物之成效。防疫護膜由物理性核心技術製造而成，該技術結合奈米技術、觸媒科技以及四級銨類物質（3-（trimethoxysilyl）-propyloctadecyldimethyl ammonium chloride），可延長醫院電梯按鍵清潔每2小時清消一次的規定。研究結果在實驗室證實，奈米技術防疫護膜在1小時內可消滅之醫院常見致病菌包含金黃色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus）、大腸桿菌（Escherichia coli）、糞腸球菌（Enterococcus faecalis）、腦膜敗血伊莉莎白菌（Elizabethkingia meningoseptica）、綠膿桿菌（Pseudomonas aeruginosa）、克雷伯氏肺炎桿菌（Klebsiella pneumoniae）與鮑氏不動桿菌（Acinetobacter baumannii）。另外因防疫護膜有抑菌功效，在3小時未清潔之電梯按鍵上持續使用，證明可維持於潔淨指標內（＜2.5 CFU/cm^2）；並且，奈米技術防疫護膜使用3個月仍能維持抑制效果。綜合上述，奈米技術防疫護膜能有效預防並持續穩定地殺滅醫院常見微生物，其效果與使用消毒液定期清消表面相當。使用奈米技術防疫護膜對於改善環衛人員清潔流程與環境潔淨的維持可能有幫助，然而還需環衛人員積極配合，並加強訓練人員之清潔衛生觀念。

Elevators are transport hubs for infection control in both healthcare and office buildings. If not regularly cleaned or disinfected, elevators and press buttons may easily become breeding grounds for microbes and sources of infections. The use of surface antimicrobial products with long-lasting effects is expected to prevent the spread of undesirable microbes. This research was conducted in a medical center located in central Taiwan from October 1st to December 31st, 2020, to investigate the protectiveness and sustainability of nano antimicrobial pads in laboratory and field experiments. The test article was the ''nano antimicrobial pad,'' which was manufactured based on nanotechnology and catalyst knowledge using organic quaternary ammonium compounds. The results demonstrate the following: (1) the nano antimicrobial pad was proven to effectively eliminate common pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii under laboratory conditions; and (2) due to the sustained antimicrobial activity of the nano pads, the surface of the elevator press buttons that were pad-protected but not cleaned for three hours generated a colony count result within the acceptable cleanliness range (＜ 2.5 CFU/cm^2). The nano antimicrobial pad continued to exert its antimicrobial effects for three months. These findings suggest that nano antimicrobial pads can be an effective and long-lasting method to eliminate common pathogens in the hospital environment, and their protective effect against microbes is comparable to that of using disinfectants to clean the surface. The housekeeping personnel at the hospital may redesign the working process to incorporate nano antimicrobial pads. However, the training and compliance of housekeeping personnel must be enforced.