When it comes to hydrogen peroxide, most people think of
that little brown bottle available at our local grocery stores. For me, memories come flooding back from when
my mother used it as an antiseptic on my skinned knee. At the time, the bubbling and foaming that
occurred was really quite cool. Use as
an antiseptic is just one application of hydrogen peroxide that demonstrates
its well known antimicrobial qualities.
use as an odour counteractant or disinfectant didn’t begin until 1891. Still, that makes it one of the oldest known disinfectant
chemistries. Hydrogen peroxide generates
hydroxyl radicals – the strongest known oxidant – which attack DNA, membrane
lipids, enzymes and other vital cell components to exhibit its germicidal kill. The end result is hydrogen peroxide’s broad
spectrum of potential germicidal activity.
Depending upon its concentration, hydrogen peroxide can be used for
applications ranging from use as a preservative to that of a chemical
sterilant. At 25ppm, hydrogen peroxide
can inhibit growth of bacteria, while 6% hydrogen peroxide can inactivate
bacterial spores – the toughest known microorganisms. Hydrogen peroxide can also inactivate viruses
(both enveloped, non-enveloped), fungi, and mycobacteria.
in honey and milk as a preservative. It
is available in our saliva as an oxidant, in blood as a part of our immune
system against pathogenic microorganisms, and in tissues due to cellular
metabolism.
not carry any residual activity since it either evaporates from the surface or
degrades into its constituent components – water and oxygen. Furthermore, because it has more than one
target site while inactivating microorganisms the potential for bacterial
resistance to develop against hydrogen peroxide is essentially non-existent.
oxygen also makes it an environmentally preferable disinfectant chemistry.
important consideration is a product’s ability to clean and aid in the ability
to lift and remove soils from a surface.
Since hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizing agent, it oxidizes organic
materials allowing them to be more easily removed from the surface. For this reason hydrogen peroxide is used in
many commercial and consumer cleaning products.
grade standard hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant chemistry?
solutions are utilized within a spectrum of various concentrations. Taking this into account, here’s how we would
score stand-alone hydrogen peroxide solutions on the key decision making
criteria:
relatively rapid contact times for the high level disinfection and/or chemical
sterilization of medical instruments
- For surface disinfectant applications, standard hydrogen
peroxide solutions tend to be quite slow.
criteria is tied to the in-use concentration
- 6-7% concentrations can be used as chemical sterilants to
eradicate all microbial life; 3% solutions may be used as surface disinfectants
or skin antispetics
them to be more easily removed from the surface. For this reason hydrogen peroxide is used in
many commercial and consumer cleaning products.
parameter largely affected by the in-use concentration of the solution
- Hydrogen peroxide based solutions tend to be safer
alternatives to other commercially available disinfectant chemistries
- Concentrations used for surface applications tend to be
non-toxic and non-irritating; concentrations used for medical device
disinfection, although irritating to eyes and skin, do not carry respiratory
irritation profiles as do many disinfectants used in these applications
- Hydrogen peroxide degrades into water and oxygen making
it an environmentally preferable disinfectant chemistry
manufacturers and can be found in both concentrated and ready-to-use formats.
Peroxide and other disinfectant chemistries, stay tuned to
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