Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 8:30 AM
S106
Self-Decontamination Technology to Control Bacterial Spores on Fabric
Jon J. Calomiris, U.S. Army, USANCA, 7150 Heller Loop, Fort Belvoir, Springfield, VA 22150-3198
Control of spore-forming microbial species able to cause disease or degrade industrial materials can be a formidable task since these organisms may tolerate typical disinfection treatments. Effective inactivation of spores associated with sensitive systems is a greater challenge since the treatment must be strong enough to kill the spore and not be antagonistic to sensitive material. To enhance protection during exposure to biological agents, self-decontaminating fabric was developed to inactivate pathogens during contact with the material surface. In this study, Bacillus anthracis spores were delivered to military fabric amended with an antimicrobial compound (QAC or chlorine-based) to identify exposure conditions that promote spore death. B. anthracis inactivation was more effective at higher relative humidity (RH) levels or temperatures. For spores on QAC fabric (90% RH, 2 hours), an elevated temperature (37oC) yielded more than 3 logarithms greater inactivation than exposure at an ambient temperature (20oC). For spores on chlorine-compound fabric (30oC, one hour), spore inactivation was about 4 logarithms greater at 90% RH than at 60% RH. The chlorine-based compound was more sporicidal than the QAC. During two-hours exposure, spore inactivation was about about 6 logarithms for the chlorine-based fabric (90% RH, 30oC) and about 4 logarithms for the QAC fabric (90% RH, 37oC). Potential of the B. anthracis spore to survive on surfaces was demonstrated by maintenance of viability on untreated fabric at various RH levels and temperatures for extended periods. Self-decontamination technology offers potential to enhance protection with fabrics employed for clothing, tents, bed linens, and other applications.
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See more of The Annual Meeting and Exhibition 2008 (August 10 - 14, 2008)