| Title |
Microbial Contamination of Smartphone Touchscreens of Italian University Students
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Current Microbiology, December 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00284-017-1385-9 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Silvia Di Lodovico, Angela Del Vecchio, Valentina Cataldi, Emanuela Di Campli, Soraya Di Bartolomeo, Luigina Cellini, Mara Di Giulio |
| Abstract |
In this study, the microbial contamination of smartphones from Italian University students was analyzed. A total of 100 smartphones classified as low, medium, and high emission were examined. Bacteria were isolated on elective and selective media and identified by biochemical tests. The mean values of cfu/cm2 were 0.79 ± 0.01; in particular, a mean of 1.21 ± 0.12, 0.77 ± 0.1 and 0.40 ± 0.10 cfu/cm2 was present on smartphones at low, medium, and high emission, respectively. The vast majority of identified microorganisms came from human skin, mainly Staphylococci, together with Gram-negative and positive bacilli and yeasts. Moreover, the main isolated species and their mixture were exposed for 3 h to turned on and off smartphones to evaluate the effect of the electromagnetic wave emission on the bacterial cultivability, viability, morphology, and genotypic profile in respect to the unexposed broth cultures. A reduction rate of bacterial growth of 79 and 46% was observed in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis broth cultures, respectively, in the presence of turned on smartphone. No differences in viability were observed in all detected conditions. Small colony variants and some differences in DNA fingerprinting were detected on bacteria when the smartphones were turned on in respect to the other conditions. The colonization of smartphones was limited to human skin microorganisms that can acquire phenotype and genotypic modifications when exposed to microwave emissions. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 45 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 45 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 11 | 24% |
| Lecturer | 4 | 9% |
| Researcher | 3 | 7% |
| Other | 2 | 4% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 2 | 4% |
| Other | 6 | 13% |
| Unknown | 17 | 38% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 18% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 16% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 2 | 4% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 4% |
| Psychology | 2 | 4% |
| Other | 5 | 11% |
| Unknown | 19 | 42% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 December 2017.
All research outputs
#17,923,510
of 23,012,811 outputs
Outputs from Current Microbiology
#1,580
of 2,424 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#307,482
of 439,661 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Current Microbiology
#29
of 42 outputs
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