Effect of Fine Mechanical Filter Air Cleaner on the Removal of House Dust Mite Allergens

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RATIONALE: The effects of air conditioner filter on the removal of airborne indoor allergens, especially house dust mite, are still controversial. We evaluated the effect of fine mechanical filter air cleaner (model: S12AA; LG Electronics, Korea) on the removal of airborne house dust mite allergens.

METHODS: The dried house dust mite culture media including mite body particles and excretions was sprayed in the air cleaner installed chamber. The numbers of airborne particles were recorded continuously by a dust spectrometer for 60 minutes. The airborne particles were collected on the air sampling filter and the Der f 1 in the extracts from the filters was measured by two-site ELISA.

RESULTS: The fine mechanical filter air cleaner efficiently removed the airborne house dust mite particles at the range of 5.0∼12.5 μm for initial 30 minutes. But the smaller dust particles of size ∼2 μm were abeyant, which was almost removed within 40 minutes. The concentration of Der f 1 from the extraction of the air sampled filter was decreased about 60.3% by the operation of fine mechanical filter air cleaner (p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Fine mechanical filter air cleaner can remove house dust mite allergens and may be useful for the management of respiratory allergic patients sensitized to indoor allergens.