ATP swab for surface hygiene monitoring | Lucipac Pen Kikkoman 60331

The Lucipac Pen ATP test swab is an older generation swab than the Lucipac A3 Surface (product code 60361), used for surface hygiene testing in food processing plants, canteens of industrial catering companies and schools, and in particular for hygiene testing in hospitals.
- In principle, the Lucipac Pen swab differs from the Lucipac A3 Surface swab as follows:
+ The Lucipac Pen swab measures only 2 forms, ATP + AMP
+ The Lucipac A3 Surface swab measures 3 forms, ATP + ADP + AMP

1. Applications of the Lucipac Pen swab

- This test swab set can be used to check cleanliness by taking a surface swab sample. Do not use this swab for any purpose other than the one it was designed for, namely checking the cleanliness of a surface. Please note that this swab cannot be used to test or measure the level of living bacteria or of specific pathogenic bacteria.
- This swab is used for monitoring cleanliness in food processing plants and in medical treatment facilities and hospitals. This swab does not provide any guarantee that a given test environment is free of bacterial contamination. The swab cannot be used to test food or food products directly.

2. Measurement principle of the Lucipac Pen swab

- This swab uses an enzyme cycling method based on the combination of the luminescent reactions of firefly luciferase, pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) and pyruvate kinase (PK). This method produces an amount of luminescent substance proportional to the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) present.
- ATP is an energy source required by the various life forms found in organic debris, such as microorganisms, food residues and biological substances originating from other living organisms. The ATP monitoring device Lumitester Smart allows you to measure and detect organic residues at high speed and with high sensitivity by detecting ATP with luciferase, which is why it is widely used to determine cleanliness in food production sites and in medical treatment facilities and hospitals.

- This swab is a simple integrated test device that contains both the test reagent and the swab tip needed to test cleanliness.

3. Packaging

One box of LuciPac A3 Pen swabs contains 5 aluminium pouches, each holding 20 swabs (100 swabs per box in total).

4. Precautions when using the Lucipac Pen ATP swab

Make sure to follow the precautions listed below to obtain optimum performance from this test swab.
① Do not use the product after its expiry date. Expired products may not give accurate results (the expiry date is printed on the bottom of the aluminium pouch holding the swabs).
② Make sure to use only the specified products when measuring luminescence. This swab set cannot be used with products that are not specified.
③ The swabs must be brought to room temperature (see table 2) before testing if they are taken from cold storage. The measured value may be lower than the actual value if the swabs are used while still cold. Use the test swabs as soon as possible once they have returned to room temperature. Do not leave the kit outdoors at temperatures above 35°C (95°F). High temperatures may reduce the performance of the product.

*I) Temperature compensation is carried out according to the reading of the thermometer built into the main body of the Lumitester PD-30. The compensation therefore cannot be carried out correctly if the temperature of the main body of the PD-30 differs from that of the LuciPac. Please make sure that the temperature of the main body of the PD-30 and of the LuciPac are the same before use.

④ Whenever possible, make sure to use up all the swabs from a pouch that has been opened at the same time. If leftover swabs must be stored after the measuring session has finished, reseal the aluminium pouch tightly and store it in a cold environment (2°C to 8°C (35.6°F to 46.4°F)). High temperatures may reduce the performance of the product.
⑤ Do not leave the swab or any part of it in direct contact with sunlight for long periods. Strong light may reduce the performance of the product.
⑥ Do not touch any part inside the sampling swab, in particular any part of the swab tip, with your fingers or any other object before use. Touching the parts may affect cleanliness and make it difficult to measure.
⑦ Do not drop any part of the pouch or subject any part of the swab to strong impact or shaking. The inner aluminium sheet and other parts in the product may be damaged, reducing the performance of the product.
⑧ Do not use the swab if several parts are damaged, such as the inner aluminium sheet. Such damage may affect the performance of the product and make it impossible to measure cleanliness accurately. You can tell whether the aluminium sheet is damaged by checking whether the release reagent is leaking.⑨ Set the threshold level at which the required cleanliness can be achieved. If the threshold is not set correctly, cleanliness may not be assessed accurately.⑩ Hold the LuciPac tube firmly to make sure it does not shift. It may be difficult to determine cleanliness accurately if the reagent starts leaking because the tube has shifted. It may be difficult to remove the LuciPac from the measuring device after the measurements have been taken. Furthermore, it may cause the measuring device to malfunction.

5. Disposal of the Lucipac Pen swab after measurement

- This test swab set does not contain hazardous materials. This test swab can be disposed of as ordinary waste, but when disposing of it, it is better to separate the parts and discard each part properly in accordance with the local regulations issued by the local authority for the correct handling of waste.
- The main materials and parts used in this set are listed below. No PVC material is used to manufacture the plastics in this kit.

6. Handling precautions

① Take care not to let the reagent or other substances in the swab get into your mouth, eyes or bare hands before or after use. Rinse your mouth thoroughly with water if any substance enters your mouth, wash the skin with plenty of water if it comes into contact with the skin, and rinse the affected eye thoroughly with plenty of water if the substance gets into the eye. Contact a doctor immediately for advice and follow their instructions.
② Take care when storing and disposing of the swab and reagents to make sure that no substance is mixed into food and other products.
③ Take care not to catch your fingers when inserting the swab into the main body (casing).
④ Make sure to keep this kit and its parts out of the reach of small children.
⑤ Note that the release reagent used in this swab contains a cationic surfactant (benzalkonium chloride *3)). Take precautions when disposing of this swab after use to make sure that these substances are not mixed into food products at food production centres and similar facilities.

*3) Benzalkonium chloride is a disinfectant and antiseptic commonly used in hand and finger disinfectant solutions.

7. Storage of the Lucipac Pen ATP swab

- Storage of the swabs: the swabs must be stored at low temperature (2°C to 8°C (35.6°F to 46.4°F)) for long-term storage. The swabs may be stored below 25°C (77°F) for up to 14 days or below 30°C (86°F) for up to 5 days before the aluminium pouch is opened, without any adverse effect on long-term stability. Do not freeze the swabs.
- We recommend using all 20 swabs in one pouch at the same time after opening the aluminium pouch. If you have leftover swabs that must be stored after opening the pouch, remember to keep them at the recommended low temperature (2°C to 8°C (35.6°F to 46.4°F)) and use them within two weeks of opening the pouch.
- Shelf life: printed on the aluminium pouch.