Effective elimination of bacteria on hard surfaces by the combined use of bacteriophages and chemical disinfectants.

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) represent one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and controlling pathogens in the hospital environment is of great importance. Currently, the standard disinfection method in the hospital environment is chemical disinfection. However, disinfectants are usually not used strictly according to the label, making them less effective in disinfection. Therefore, there is an emergent need to find a better approach that can be used in hospitals to control pathogenic bacteria in the clinical environment. Bacteriophages (phages) are effective in killing bacteria and have been applied in the treatment of bacterial infections but have not received enough attention regarding the control of contamination in the clinical environment. In this study, we found that various phages remain active in the presence of chemical disinfectants. Moreover, the combined use of specific phages and chemical disinfectants is more effective in removing bacterial biofilms and eliminating bacteria on hard surfaces. Thus, this proof-of-concept study indicates that adding phages directly to chemical disinfectants might be an effective and economical approach to enhance clinical environment disinfection. IMPORTANCE: In this study, we investigated whether the combination of bacteriophages and chemical disinfectants can enhance the efficacy of reducing bacterial contamination on hard surfaces in the clinical setting. We found that specific phages are active in chemical disinfectants and that the combined use of phages and chemical disinfectants was highly effective in reducing bacterial presence on hard surfaces. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated that adding specific phages directly to chemical disinfectants is an effective and cost-efficient strategy for clinical environment disinfection.

Removal of the red tide dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides using chemical disinfectants.

For decades, red tide control has been recognized as necessary for mitigating financial damage to fish farms. Chemical disinfectants, frequently used for water disinfection, can reduce the risk of red tides on inland fish farms. This study systematically evaluated four different chemical disinfectants (ozone (O3), permanganate (MnO4-), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)) for their potential use in inland fish farms to control red tides by investigating their (i) inactivation efficacy regarding C. polykrikoides, (ii) total residual oxidant and byproduct formation, and (iii) toxicity to fish. The inactivation efficacy of C. polykrikoides cells by chemical disinfectants from highest to lowest followed the order of O3 > MnO4- > NaOCl > H2O2 for different cell density conditions and disinfectant doses. The O3 and NaOCl treatments generated bromate as an oxidation byproduct by reacting with bromide ions in seawater. The acute toxicity tests of the disinfectants for juvenile red sea bream (Pagrus major) showed that 72-h LC50 values were 1.35 (estimated), 0.39, 1.32, and 102.61 mg/L for O3, MnO4-, NaOCl, and H2O2, respectively. Considering the inactivation efficacy, exposure time of residual oxidants, byproduct formation, and toxicity toward fish, H2O2 is suggested as the most practical disinfectant for controlling red tides in inland fish farms.

Antimicrobial Activity of Various Disinfectants to Clean Thermoplastic Polymeric Appliances in Orthodontics.

There is a lack of research evidence on the risk-benefits of the various disinfectants in cleaning products and cleansing regimens. This systematic review compared the antimicrobial activity of various chemical disinfectants to disinfect the thermoplastic polymeric appliances in orthodontics. The study was carried out using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions. An electronic search was conducted on Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Springer. Two authors independently investigated the risk of bias in duplication. A total of 225 articles were collected. After removing duplicates, 221 articles remained, and after filtering their titles and abstracts, 11 articles met eligibility qualifications remained. Finally, nine articles that met the criteria were selected. It showed that both over-the-counter orthodontic appliance cleaners and applied-chemical disinfectants were effective against bacteria. The duration and frequency of usage guidelines cannot be concluded.

Transformation and standardization of the inactivation test method for virus suspension in biosafety laboratory / 中国比较医学杂志

Chemical disinfectants are generally used for virus inactivation and environment disinfection in biosafety laboratory, and the efficacy and evaluation of the disinfection are critical to ensure the laboratory biosafety.However, there is a current lack of applied standard to evaluate the virucidal efficacy of chemical disinfectants in our country.In this paper, a European Union standard“Method and Requirements of Virucidal Quantitative Suspension Test Method for Chemical Disinfectants Used in Human Medicine” was analyzed and a standard transformation scheme has been proposed.It is suggested that the model viruses should be increased from 3 to 6, including the surrogate viruses to substitute highly pathogenic viruses, and that the method to remove the residual chemical disinfectant and the calculation of 95%confidence interval should be incorporated into the standard.The suggestion will improve the scientific and operational standards related to disinfection and sterilization in biosafety laboratory in China.

Effect of 5.25 % sodium hypochlorite on color stability of acrylic and silicone based soft liners and a denture base acrylic resin.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of a chemical disinfectant (sodium hypochlorite 5.25 %) on color stability of a denture base acrylic resin and two processed soft denture lining materials of two different types (acrylic-based and silicone-based). Ten specimens from each type of materials tested were made (2 × 20 × 20 mm). All specimens were immersed in sodium hypochlorite (5.25 %). Colorimetric measurements for each specimen were taken before immersion, and after 24 h and 7 days of immersion. Color changes were evaluated using the CIE L*a*b* colorimetric system. Data were statistically analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (α = 0.05). ANOVA was followed by Bonferroni test to determine which groups differed from each other. ΔE and ΔL* of the silicone-based liner at the 1st and 7th days of immersion were significantly more than of denture base acrylic resin and acrylic-based liner. Change in ΔL* values of denture base acrylic resin and acrylic-based liner was small and statistically insignificant after 24 h of its immersion. However, the increase in ΔL* values of the acrylic-based liner after 7 days of immersion was considerably more than of denture base acrylic resin. Color changes in denture base acrylic resin and soft denture liners tended to increase with longer immersion times, and the color stability of the soft denture liners was influenced by its chemical type.

Evaluation of A Chlorine Dioxide Disinfectant for Dental Unit Waterlines / 中华医院感染学杂志

OBJECTIVE To investigate the use of a chlorine dioxide-based dental unit waterline(DUWL) treatment to reduce the colonization and growth of heterotrophic bacteria.METHODS Twenty-two dental units with self-contained water systems were randomly selected.Three of the units and tap water served as controls.Twenty-three water samples were taken at baseline and once a week for five weeks.They were serially diluted,spread-plated in duplicate onto R2A agar plates and incubated at 37 ℃ for 7 days.RESULTS At baseline,the 3 control DUWLs had a median count of 8440 colony-forming units/milliliter(CFU/ml) and the 19 treated DUWLs had a median count of 9160 CFU/ml.By week 1,18 of the 19 treated DUWLs had counts of less than 200 CFU/ml,and by week 4,the median count for all of the treated DUWLs was 0 CFU/ml.The measurement at week 5 showed that the reduction to below 200 CFU/ml had been maintained.Scanning electron examination revealed a similar results,with biofilm accumulation more evident in the untreated control specimens.CONCLUSIONS Using a chlorine dioxide-based disinfectant in DUWLs can achieve the American Dental Association(ADA) goal of less than 200 CFU/ml of heterotrophic bacteria per milliliter of unfiltered output water.

Chemical Disinfectant Application:Problems and Countermeasures / 中华医院感染学杂志

OBJECTIVE To investigate the problems and countermeasures in the chemical disinfectants application.METHODS To analyze the existing problems in the chemical disinfectants application from 8 hospitals of different care levels at the same city and provide corresponding measures.RESULTS There were many problems in the use of chemical disinfectants,therefore the key points were enhencing the leadership and management standards,staff training,of corresponding knowledge and the correct methods,and strengthening the guidance,inspection and supervision by functional departments.CONCLUSIONS Medical personnel must properly use the chemical disinfectants to ensure the medical safety and prevent hospital infection effectively.