MistressVnus
Posts: 1036
Joined: 1/4/2008
From: Central Florida
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I hate symantics. There are many pros and cons from various sources regarding bleach as a sterilizer. However, chlorine bleach will be found under almost any search regarding "sterilization" and listed as a "chemical sterilant."
In any event, I have found it safe, so far, for sounds.
And, as with anything, I am sure there is an exception to the rule and a percentage of risk. However, personally and thankfully, I haven't been entered into those statistics to date.
Edited to note: I agree that soap and water is NOT a sterilant and I would not recommend that for sounds.
http://www.hoslink.com/sterilisation.htm
6.3 Chemical Sterilants and Disinfectants Instruments or materials which cannot withstand sterilization in a steam autoclave or dry-air oven can be sterilized with a gas such as ethylene oxide or a broad spectrum liquid chemical germicide. Chemical decontamination of surfaces may also be necessary for very large or fixed items. Since liquid chemical germicides generally require high concentrations and several hours of exposure time for sterilization purposes, they are usually used for disinfection rather than for sterilization purposes. The majority of chemical disinfectants have toxic properties: follow the manufacurer's directions for use and wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves, eye protection, apron), especially when handling stock solutions. Choice of a chemical germicide for use on contaminated equipment, supplies, laboratory surfaces or biohazardous waste depends upon a number of factors, including: - number and nature of microbes to be destroyed (e.g., spores vs vegetative cells, bacteria vs viruses),
- type and configuration of item to be disinfected (fissures, crevices and enclosures may shield organisms),
- purpose of treatment (e.g., disinfection vs sterilization),
- interaction with other active chemicals,
- whether the item is covered with soil which might inactivate the disinfectant,
- contact time required for disinfection,
- toxicity to individuals, culture systems, environment, residual toxicity on items,
- pH, temperature, hardness of available dilution water,
- cost.
Direct contact between germicide and microorganism is essential for disinfection. Microorganisms can be shielded within air bubbles or under dirt, grease, oil, rust or clumps of microorganisms. Agar or proteinaceous nutrients and other cellular material can, either directly (through inactivation of the germicide) or indirectly (via physical shielding of microorganisms) reduce the efficacity of some liquid germicides. No one chemical germicide is effective for all disinfection or sterilization purposes. A summary of chemical germicides, their use, effective concentrations, advantages and disadvantages can be found in Tables 3, 4A and 4B.
TABLE 3 - Summary of concentrations used, contact times, advantages and disadvantages and uses of some of the halogen-releasing chemical germicides. The wide ranges of effective concentrations and contact times cited are due to a number of factors, including the interdependence of time and concentration, the variability in resistance of different microorganisms, the amount of organic material present and the desired effect (e.g., low-level vs high-level disinfection)
Effective Concentrations, Contact Times Advantages Disadvantages Examples of Uses Chlorine Compounds: Sodium hypochlorite solution 1 (liquid bleach)
100-10,000 ppm (.01-1%) free chlorine
10-60 minutes (>= 3,000 ppm for broad spectrum)
broad spectrum
inexpensive
widely available
bactericidal at low temperature
toxic, corrosive to skin and metals
unstable at optimum effective pH of 6
inactivated by organic matter
deteriorates under light and heat: shelf life of dilutions is less than 1 week
general disinfectant
waste liquids
surface decontamination
emergency spill clean up
instrument disinfection Calcium hypochlorite2 granules, powder, tablets
as for liquid bleach
as for liquid bleach but more stable
as for liquid bleach above, except shelf life is longer
as for liquid bleach NaDCC3 (Sodium dichloroisocyanurate) powder, granules, tablets
as for liquid bleach
more stable than hypochlorites
stable at pH 6.0
toxic, corrosive
inactivated by organic matter
as for liquid bleach Chloramine-T4 (Sodium tosylchloramide) powder or tablets
as for liquid bleach
more stable, less affected by organic matter than hypochlorites
longer activity than hypochlorites
deteriorates under humidity, light and heat
as for liquid bleach Chlorine dioxide5
demand-release of chlorine dioxide in situ
longer activity than other chlorine compounds
less corrosive, less toxic than other chlorine compounds
effective at pH 6-10
aqueous solutions decompose under light
instrument disinfection
gas sterilization of germ-free animal chambers Iodine Preparations: Iodophors6
30-1,000 ppm (.003-.1%) free iodine
10-30 minutes
broad spectrum
germicidal over a wide pH range
generally nonstaining, less toxic and less irritating than aqueous or alcoholic iodine solutions
not consistently sporicidal
efficacy reduced by organic matter
some iodophor solutions support growth of Pseudomonas7
germicidal soaps and antiseptics
surface decontamination
work surface wipedown
instrument disinfection Notes: 1 a 1/10 dilution of 5.25% bleach provides 5,250 ppm available chlorine 2 "high tested" provides 70-72% available chlorine; chlorinated lime or bleaching powder provides approximately 35% available chlorine 3 appproximately 60% available chlorine 4 approximately 25% available chlorine 5 To avoid shipping of this extremely reactive product, reagents ("base" and "activator") from commercially available kits are mixed with water to generate chlorine dioxide immediately prior to use 6 10% povidone-iodine provides 1% available iodine 7 An iodophor stock solution may actually be a less effective germicide than its dilution. For example, a full-strength (10%) solution of povidone-iodine provides approximately 10 times less free available iodine than a 1/100 dilution. Iodophors must be used at the manufacturer's recommended concentrations.
< Message edited by MistressVnus -- 3/9/2008 10:12:32 AM >
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