Effect of chemical sanitizing agents on ATP bioluminescence measurements

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of sodium hypochlorite (SH), quaternary ammonium (QA), trisodium phosphate (TSP), lactic acid (LA), hydrogen peroxide (HP), and trichlosan (TR) on ATP bioluminescence measurements. Each sanitizer was tested at three different levels and compared to a control group containing no sanitizer. ATP from three sources was analyzed, Escherichia coli, chicken blood, and a pure ATP standard. The effect of each sanitizer was reported as a percent decrease in log(10) relative light units (LRLU) for the treatment groups when compared to LRLU from the control groups. SH concentrations of 30, 50, and 70 ppm and quaternary ammonium at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 ppm had no effect on LRLU measurements, regardless of the ATP source. LA concentrations of 0.5% and higher reduced LRLU by 75%. LRLU measurements were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) reduced by approximately 60% when levels of TSP exceeded 1%. HP had no effect on LRLU measurements from any of the ATP sources at 0.1%; however, at 1% HP significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) decreased LRLU measurements by approximately 60% for all ATP sources. TR at 0.25% had no significant effect on LRLU measurements from any of the ATP sources. TR at 0.5 and 1% reduced LRLU measurements by 30 and 50%, respectively. These results indicate that commercial sanitizers containing LA, TSP, HP, or TR may negatively affect LRLU measurements if the sanitizer is allowed to come into direct contact with the ATP bioluminescence reagents.