Cleanliness and safety with the N‑Light™ ATP Test
Stay ahead of the curve with our state-of-the-art ATP test and pathogen screening solution
Monitoring the environment in the food industry is essential to maintaining high hygiene standards. However, more than traditional cleaning methods might be needed to ensure your facility is safe from hygiene issues, which is where ATP testing comes in handy. At NEMIS, we believe in the power of environmental monitoring and process controls, as they are critical to shaping the future of food safety.
Introducing the revolutionary Adenosine triphosphate test (ATP test) that is part of our cutting-edge environmental monitoring platform! Unlike competing products, our ATP test offers much more than surface cleanliness assessments. Our platform allows you to access pathogen screening tests for Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria spp.
ATP hygiene monitoring measures the amount of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on surfaces. ATP is a molecule found in all living cells, so its presence indicates the presence of organic matter, including bacteria and other pathogens. ATP tests are a popular choice in the food industry for ensuring that surfaces are clean before food distribution. However, it has also become a standard for cleanliness testing in other industries, such as water quality, healthcare, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Cleanliness and safety all-in-one with the N-Light™ screening platform
Our ATP test is a highly sensitive and accurate tool for detecting and quantifying organic material on surfaces. Our platform is incredibly user-friendly and allows you to easily monitor your facilities’ cleanliness in real-time. You can make informed decisions and take corrective action when necessary with instant results. Whether you are a food manufacturer, service laboratory or hygiene consultant, our platform can help maintain a safe and hygienic environment for your customers and employees.
So, why settle for an ATP test that only offers limited information when you could have a comprehensive monitoring platform including pathogen screening tests? Choose our N-Light™ ATP test and environmental monitoring instrument platform for complete peace of mind and assurance that your facilities are safe and clean.
N-Light™ ATP for immediate
actionable results
N-Light™ ATP test is a highly sensitive and accurate tool for detecting organic material on cleaned surfaces.
Operational surfaces
Hand hygiene
Simple, Effective, Testing process
1. Sample
2. Transfer
3. Storage
Tubes with swab samples can either be activated immediately or
stored for up to 2 h at room temperature
4. Activate
5 min
5. Measure
10 s
Recommended products:
N-Light™ ATP
NEMIS product REF 0003
Product description
N-Light™ ATP is a quantitative test for rapid screening of the amount of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) present on surfaces, equipment, or in solution, which indicates the level of contamination with microbes and/or food residues. This test is valuable for maintaining high standards of hygiene and cleanliness in food producing and processing facilities. Final test results are available 10s after sampling.
Storage conditions: 2-8 °C / 36-46 °F, DO NOT FREEZE
Transport conditions: ambient (short duration only)
HS tariff number: 38221900
Country of origin: CH
Each test consists of the following components:
- N-Light™ Biosafety Tube, filled with N-Light™ ATP assay buffer, 2 ml
- N-Light™ Dispensing Closure, containing the N-Light™ ATP tablet, 1 pc. / 15 mg
Technical specifications
NEMIS tests each production batch against the specifications listed below.
| General characteristics | Specification |
|---|---|
| Assay buffer general appearance | Clear waterlike solution |
| Assay buffer visible turbidity | No particles |
| Assay buffer optical density (OD600) | < 0.05 |
| Assay buffer Volume | 1.80 – 2.20 ml |
| Assay buffer pH value | 6.80 – 7.20 |
| Test performance | Specification |
|---|---|
| Background luminescence | < 700 RLU |
| Luminescence with 0.5 nM ATP | > 25 000 RLU |
| Luminescence with 5 nM ATP | > 250 000 RLU |
| Luminescence with Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, 5×105 CFU/ml | > 10 000 RLU |
| Luminescence with Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, 5×105 CFU/ml | > 15 000 RLU |
Certificates of analysis are available on request.
Packaging specifications
| General characteristics | Primary packaging (test tube) | Secondary packaging (product box) |
Tertiary packaging (distributor box) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | 1 test | 50 tests (1 x 50) | 300 tests (6 x 50) |
| Bar code / GTIN | See below | 7649994979300 | 7649994979317 |
| Length | 1.9 cm | 26.2 cm | 36.3 cm |
| Width | 1.9 cm | 11.5 cm | 27.4 cm |
| Height | 11.1 cm | 11.6 cm | 24.4 cm |
| Net weight | 0.010 kg | 0.600 kg | 3.950 kg |
| Total plastic amount | 0.008 kg | 0.376 kg | 2.256 kg |
| Non-reusable plastic amount — in the product — in the packaging |
0.008 kg 0.000 kg |
0.375 kg 0.001 kg |
2.250 kg 0.006 Kg |
Lot and serial number of the test
Each test has a unique number printed on the tube label. The human readable format is LLLLLLL-XXXXX. Additionally, this number is encoded without the hyphen in a linear barcode of type Code 128:
- LLLLLLL: 7-digit lot number
- XXXXX: 5-digit consecutive number
N-Light™ ATP
Required materials
- N-Light™ ATP test tubes
- NEMIS Bench-top Luminometer
- Optional: N-Light™ Activation Tool (REF 00008)
- N-Light™ sterile dry swabs BP
Training
At NEMIS, your success is our priority. Our experts are here to guide you with comprehensive training resources, including instructional videos, to help your team confidently and accurately perform procedures. For on-demand training requests, please contact us at techsupport@nemistech.com.
FAQ
N-Light™ ATP is a rapid and sensitive method developed for hygiene monitoring in the food industry. The test measures the amount of ATP present on surfaces, equipment, or in solution. The amount of ATP indicates the level of contamination with microorganisms and/or food residues.
ATP is the abbreviation for adenosine triphosphate, a biomolecule that provides energy for cellular processes and is present in all animals, plants, fungi and bacteria cells. In the case of microorganisms, metabolically active (living) cells contain the highest levels of ATP, while dead cells contain very little ATP. Foodstuff may also contain ATP, either from fermenting microorganisms or from plant and animal cells (e.g. muscle cells in meat).
Microbial cells, free ATP and food residues are picked up from surfaces or liquids using N-Light™ swabs BP provided together with the test tubes. The swab samples are broken into the assay buffer in the test tubes which contains a lysis agent for efferent release ATP from microbial cells. Then the reagent tablet in the cap is released and luminescence is measured after 10 sec. Light is generated by the reaction of ATP with the enzyme luciferase and the co-substrate D-luciferin.
The N-Light™ swabs BP are not pre-moistened. For sampling of dry surfaces, the swabs should be pre-moistened by dipping them into the assay buffer of the N-Light™ ATP tests. Dry swabs can be used for liquid samples (just stick the swab into the liquid, it will take up approximately 0.2 ml) or for sampling wet surfaces.
RLU stands for Relative Light Units and is the unit of measure used in the NEMIS luminometer and other luminometers. In the N-Light™ ATP test, RLU values are proportional to the amount of ATP present in the sample.
The only required instrument is the NEMIS benchtop luminometer. The test can be used on-site without any laboratory infrastructure.
When the luminometer is close to the sampling site, time-to-result (including sampling) is 2-5 min. When several samples are taken throughout the factory and then analysed together, the time for read-out is approximately 30 sec per test.
A sampled surface is considered very clean N-Light™ ATP test results are below 1000 RLU. Depending on the type of food factory and type of sampling site, higher RLU values of up to 5000 RLU can be defined as upper limit for clean surfaces. Very dirty surfaces can show N-Light™ ATP readings of up to several 100’000 RLU.
ATP tests are usually not certified. However, NEMIS has validated the test extensively in its own laboratory, both with Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and foodstuff. Please contact sales@nemistech.com or techsupport@nemistech.com for a summary of validation data.
The liquid in N-Light™ ATP tubes contains is an aqueous solution with buffer compound, inorganic salts and low amounts of a detergent for cell lysis. The liquid does not pose any risk to humans or the environment.
Swab samples in transport tubes can be left for a maximum of 2 h at room temperature before analysing them in N-Light™ ATP tests. However, NEMIS recommends analyzing the swabs right after sampling.
The reading should be started in 8 to 12 sec after table release to achieve minimal test to test variability. Shorter or longer times between tablet release and reading will lead to higher variability. Users should never wait for more than 20 sec before starting the read.
Hot spots that accurately indicate potential product contamination should be preferentially sampled. Please refer to your Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan.
Optimally, high-risk spots should be swabbed on a daily basis after each cleaning or production shift. In case of a positive result, immediate corrective action should be taken with re-cleaning and re-testing until a passing result can be measured. Lower-risk control points may be tested less frequently.
Support
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