Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2021) 136: 393
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01353-8

Regular Article

Fast surface disinfection with COUNTERFOG® SDR-F05A+

¹ Universidad de Alcalá (UAH), Madrid, Spain
² San Jorge Tecnológicas S.L. (SJT), Madrid, Spain
³ Counterfog EBT de La UAH S.L. (COUNTERFOG), Madrid, Spain
⁴ Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Madrid, Spain
⁵ Mag Soar S.L. (MAGSOAR), Madrid, Spain
⁶ Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa. CSIC. UAM, Madrid, Spain
⁷ INTA (National Institute of Aerospace Technology), Madrid, Spain

^c pmendezvigo@counterfog.eu

Received: 22 February 2021
Accepted: 23 March 2021
Published online: 12 April 2021

Abstract

COUNTERFOG® has been proposed as a rapid decontamination and disinfection technology that uses dynamic submicrometric-disinfecting fog cones. When projected onto surfaces, they create a micrometre-thick film of disinfectant minimizing the use of liquids and the impact on environment. The extremely thin film is intended to be enough to cover and kill microorganisms and simultaneously thin enough to evaporate in a few minutes—depending on the environmental conditions. In the present work, experimental tests were carried out to verify this hypothesis. These include a physical characterization of the fog in the cone, a measurement of the liquid flow projected on surfaces as well as disinfection tests with a series of microorganisms. In addition to these results, operational recommendations are derived to ensure disinfection reliability.