In the sector of cleaning services (e. g. building and industrial cleaning, reprocessing of textiles and medical devices), digitalization has been introduced for a long time due to high cost pressure and increasing shortage of skilled workers, whereby automated processes are also important in the context of quality management.

The aim of the research project is a method for bioimpedimetric monitoring of disinfection processes: For this purpose, special polarizable membrane models are developed and applied to the respective carrier material equipped with electrodes, resulting in an automatically evaluable bioindicator.

The polarizable membrane model serves as a surrogate for the respective test germ and is adapted to its sensitivity to all relevant parameters of the disinfection process to be tested (e. g. mechano-, thermo-, and/or chemosensitivity).

The evaluation of the bioindicator is carried out bioimpedimetrically, whereby the measuring principle is based on the polarization of intact membrane models (β-dispersion) as well as the electrostatic binding of charge carriers to these models (α-dispersion) in the lower frequency range of the alternating electric field.

If the integrity of the membrane model is lost or if the model is damaged during the disinfection process, it can no longer be polarized in the alternating electric field and does not contribute to the impedance.

The project results will provide the more than 23,000 cleaning service providers and the approx. 2,300 textile service providers (both predominantly SMEs) with a bio-impedimetric monitoring method, that will enable them, for the first time, to evaluate the effect of the disinfection processes they carry out independently and directly.

Since membrane models are used instead of test germs, the risk of spreading of human pathogenic germs would no longer exist. Defects can be identified much faster and hygiene safety can be further optimized.

Due to the automated evaluation, no additional staff or specialist knowledge are required. In addition, the digitization of test results is made easier.