The effect of corona discharge on dust mite and cat allergens

Abstract

Corona discharge has previously been reported to destroy the house dust mite allergen Der p1. This present paper describes the efficacy of corona discharge to destroy three more clinically important allergens and investigates the factors that affect this process. Using Der p1, Der p2, Der f1 and Fel d1 the allergen reducing efficacies of both negative and positive corona, of varying magnitudes, were assessed. The effect of the duration of exposure, initial allergen concentration and ozone, a by-product of corona discharge, was also investigated. The time course of allergen reduction in situ was also followed using an experimental and a commercially available, ionizer. Negative corona was found to be the most efficacious polarity in the majority of cases. Fel d1 reacted the least with positive corona products, which may be due to the primary structure of this allergen. The in situ tests showed that it was possible to destroy surface allergen up to 4 m away from the corona source, but this reduction was not found to be time-dependent over the three week exposure period. Further research directed at improving existing ionizer designs and the development of protocols for the safe use of ionizers to destroy domestic allergen reservoirs would be extremely beneficial.