title: Comparison of the fixative properties of five disinfectant solutions.
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.
authors.affiliation: Biotech-Germande, Marseilles, France. l.pineau@wanadoo.fr
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pineau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desbuquois
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Luu Duc
mesh_terms: D000447:Aldehydes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D005404:Fixatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers; D005976:Glutaral / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D009764:o-Phthalaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D004202:Disinfectants; D005404:Fixatives; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers; C010946:polytetrafluoroethane; C015515:succindialdehyde; D009764:o-Phthalaldehyde; D010463:Peracetic Acid; D005976:Glutaral