PRIONS

Prions are dangerous infective agents that are extremely resistant to heat and many of the usual disinfectants. They cause fatal neurogenerative disorders and accumulate in the central nervous system.

Prions are proteins and so are polymers of aminoacids, these are linked together by peptide links.

To render them inactive the peptide links have to be broken by alkaline hydrolysis. Prions are resistant to many enzymes that normally break down proteins because of the unusual conformation or shape of prions derived from their keratin like nature.

Cleaning agents, therefore, have to be used at an alkaline ph greater than 12 and at 60 deg. C to achieve this breakdown. Serchem can offer two products for the task. Product 1 named Delta as sold in its undiluted state has a pH greater than 12 but some aluminium instruments may be damaged by these severe conditions so please exercise great care. Product 2 named Maxim is totally safe on all metals including aluminium in its neat form at a pH 14 or in its diluted form at 20ml to 5 litres water at pH 10-10.5.

Prions also have to be made accessible to this treatment using agents that chelate with the calcium and other metal ions holding living matter together and compounds that hel p solubilise the fatty constituents.

VIRUSES

Viruses have a nucleic acid core, often coated with glycoprotein to form the complete infectious particle

The action of the chelating agent EDTA is to convert the complete virus to the incomplete virus which greatly reduces its infectivity, as for example with calf rotavirus because: the structure is dismembered by the chelation of vital calcium which holds the complete structure together

Sodium silicate at pH 10.2 and 60 deg c will enhance this process.

Instruments submitted to this rigorous alkaline treatment should be checked to ensure that the subsequent washing process has removed all alkalinity from its surface. This can be achieved by the Serchem residue test, which will be carried out on site at no extra cost for Serchem customers. All results will be recorded for historical evidence.