Effect of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide on the Viability of Serratia marcescens

Abstract

Effect of 3% hydrogen peroxide on the viability of Serratia marcescens. J. Bacteriol. 91:925-929. 1966.-Populations of Serratia marcescens were exposed to 3% H202 at temperatures from 0 to 20 C. The reaction appeared to follow an Arrhenius plot, but variable numbers of diminutive colonies were found after cell numbers started to decrease. Colony numbers varied on different sampling media and increased when additional incubation was imposed. The overall reaction was sensitive to age of culture, and growth capabilities of treated samples varied with time of treatment, especially during times when no loss of viability was noted. Catalase activity per cell did not correlate with changes in sensitivity; iron added to growth medium increased catalase activity and decreased sensitivity, but not in the same manner. Although the fundamental reaction is presumably molecular in nature, present methods of viability assay measure more than single events and are not suitable for these studies. One end product of metabolism in aerobic bacteria is presumed to be hydrogen peroxide (4), which the cell could convert to water by the action of catalase; in high concentrations, however, H202 is bactericidal. The mechanism of disinfectant action is not known, but excess amounts of H202 are believed to oxidize some vital internal cell constituent (6). Cellular catalase could protect cells by destroying external H202. Initially, we sought information on the thermodynamics of the disinfectant reaction. We investigated the influence of temperature, iron in the growth medium, culture age, and catalase activity on the disinfectant action of 3 % hydrogen peroxide. We conclude that the overall reaction does not conform to simple kinetic theory. MATERIALS AND METHODS Serratia marcescens, strain 8UK, was grown at 31 C in a chemically defined medium described by Dimmick (2). A 1-ml amount of a sterile solution of ferric ammonium citrate containing 1 mg/ml of iron was sometimes added per liter of growth medium. Data shown in Fig. 1, 2, and 3 were obtained when "house" distilled water from a block-tin still was used. The water was stored in a stainless-steel tank and was delivered through plastic pipe with stainless-steel valves. Data in the remaining figures were obtained with use of water redistilled in a Corning AG-2 all-glass unit. Unless noted, samples of a single, third-passage 925 Vol. 91, No. 3

Comparative lethality kinetic curves and predictive models of F‐value for Listeria monocytogenes using different sanitizers

“…Some works in the literature reports a nonlinear death rate for different microorganisms exposed to different disinfectants (Campbell and Dimmick 1966;Turners 1983;Sutton et al 1991), corroborating the results obtained in the present work.…”

The bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal properties of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid

“…In contrast, hydrogen peroxide is more effective as a sporicide than as a bactericide. A solution containing 0.88 mol/l was sporicidal within 3 h at (Ahmed & Russell 1975) and is thought to occur as a result of multiple cellular injuries which can be repaired to a certain extent (Campbell & Dimmick 1966). It is possible that in the present work the experimental conditions were such that these repair mechanisms were able to ensure the viability of at least a few cells.…”

Biological filtration for BOM and particle removal: a critical review

“…105 H 2 O 2 h as been sh own to be bactericidal at h igh con cen tration s an d bacteriostatic at con centration s in th e low m illgram -per-litre ran ge; n everth eless, its disin fection effectiven ess is low com pared with th at of oth er disin fectan ts su ch as free Cl 2 . [106][107][108] Th e con tin u ou s presen ce of ~1 m g/ L H 2 O 2 in th e in flu en t of a lab-scale an th racite-san d filter did n ot in h ibit th e rem oval of several easily biodegradable com pon en ts, an d th e H 2 O 2 was rapidly destroyed in th e filter. 105 Ch loram in e residu als of ~1 m g/ L in th e in flu en t of an th racite-san d filters in h ibited th e biological rem oval of aldeh ydes an d AOC.…”