Low-cost, Small-scale Decontamination of Laboratory Equipment by Using Chlorine Dioxide Gas

Abstract

After a rodent pathogen outbreak, laboratory equipment must be decontaminated or discarded to prevent reintroduction of the pathogenic organism. Because discarding a variety of research equipment and supplies can be costly, decontamination is preferred. Due to the amount of material that often is involved, manual cleaning of these small items by using a liquid disinfectant is labor-intensive and can be inconsistent between personnel. 3,12 As an adjunct to manual cleaning or as the sole method, gaseous decontamination has proven to be very effective against a broad range of microorganisms. 6,11,15,30,31,33,44 Common gases used for decontamination include ClO 2 , ethylene oxide, paraformaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, glutaraldehyde, and peracetic acid. Comparisons and the limitations of these methods have previously been published. 5,6,12 ClO 2 gas was registered as a disinfectant by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1988 40 and has since become popular in the healthcare industry and biomedical resear ch. 1,2,4,6,13,17,18,36,37 ClO 2 is a potent oxidizer and disrupts bacterial cell walls and damages viral capsid proteins and viral RNA. 33,36 However, several factors markedly influence the efficacy of ClO 2 gas. The effectiveness of ClO 2 gas as a decontaminant is directly correlated to relative humidity (RH) and contact time. 14,19,25,35,42,44 In studies assessing the inactivation of biologic indicators (BI) at low humidity (that is, less than 50%) compared with high humidity (that is, greater than 50%), high humidity enhanced the antimicrobial effect of ClO 2 gas. 25,27,29,35,42,44 A 2016 study demonstrated a synergistic effect in the inactivation of spores regarding ClO 2 gas concentration with increased RH and contact time. 42 Therefore, these 2 factors of RH and contact time can be manipulated to improve the efficacy of ClO 2 gas decontamination. ClO 2 gas decontamination typically is performed by using large generators in areas such as office buildings, vehicles, and hospital rooms. 17,18,20,22,23,35 These commercially available generators can also be used for the decontamination of biologic safety cabinets and-with specifically designed airtight chambers-even smaller research equipment. 4-6,23 Because many of these areas are essential to daily operations, the decontamination process is ideally completed rapidly, with most reports ranging

Development of sustained release formulations of chlorine dioxide gas for inactivation of foodborne pathogens on produce

“…Although several on-site ClO 2 gas generation methods, without equipment, have been suggested, they have not been applied in the food industry (Engelhard Corporation, 2001;Fred, 2002;Isaac and Tenney, 2014;Yang and Kim, 2005). Sachets that generate ClO 2 gas are often used to inactivate foodborne pathogens on foods; however, they release too much ClO 2 gas in a short time, and there is no control on the generation rate (Mitchell et al, 2019;Popa et al, 2007;Sy et al, 2005;Wu and Rioux, 2010).…”