Comparison of the fixative properties of five disinfectant solutions

J Hosp Infect. 2008 Feb;68(2):171-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2007.10.021. Epub 2008 Jan 14.

Abstract

Following a French circular published in 2001, the use of glutaraldehyde for the disinfection of reusable medical devices was abandoned in favour of non-fixative disinfectants such as peracetic-acid-based solutions. Data published regarding the fixative properties of alternative disinfectants remain contradictory. We compared the effect of repetitive treatments of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubes, contaminated by a liquid medium inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, using five different disinfectant solutions: two peracetic acid solutions (with and without an activator), glutaraldehyde, ortho-phthaldehyde and succine dialdehyde. The results confirmed that repeated treatments of a PTFE tube with a 2% glutaraldehyde solution induce an important accumulation and/or fixation of protein, compared to peracetic-acid-based disinfectants, for which the accumulation and/or fixation of proteins remain low and vary from one formulation to another.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aldehydes / pharmacology*
  • Disinfectants / pharmacology*
  • Equipment Contamination / prevention & control
  • Fixatives / pharmacology
  • Fluorocarbon Polymers
  • Glutaral / pharmacology*
  • Peracetic Acid / pharmacology*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • o-Phthalaldehyde / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Aldehydes
  • Disinfectants
  • Fixatives
  • Fluorocarbon Polymers
  • polytetrafluoroethane
  • succindialdehyde
  • o-Phthalaldehyde
  • Peracetic Acid
  • Glutaral