Materials Compatibility – what does it mean to IPC?
Jake Jennings11Gama Healthcare, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Introduction
Whilst the cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and medical devices is a key focus of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice, the compatibility of these chemicals with the surfaces of medical devices is a critically overlooked aspect. The premature failure of plastics due to Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC) can be caused by both detergent and disinfectant products. This poses a challenge to IPC; how do you select a product that maximises microbial efficacy whilst minimising surface damage?
Method
Ten 2-in-1 cleaning and disinfectant wet wipe products were tested on 13 plastics commonly found in hospitals for their potential to cause ESC. Testing in accordance with ISO-22088-3; plastics were bent and held across a strain jig at 0.5% strain and exposed to fluid extracted from the wipes for seven days. The plastics were periodically assessed for visible damage and, following the test period, potential invisible damage was assessed using a tensometer.
Results
All tested wipes were observed to contain ESC agents, but the severity of ESC varied significantly despite the use of the same active ingredients (quaternary ammonium compounds). Differences in pH and co-formulants in the products had the biggest influence on the severity of stress cracking.
Conclusion
A correctly formulated product should offer a high level of microbial efficacy, whilst minimising potential surface damage. Ingredients found in detergent and disinfectant products can potentially accelerate stress cracking. The availability of standards like the ISO-22088-3 can help inform decisions on selecting disinfectant products which offer both antimicrobial efficacy and surface compatibility.
Biography
Graduated with a master’s degree in Chemistry from Durham University in 2019. Following this, has spent three years in materials testing and is now active in industrial research and method and standard validation in GAMA Healthcare’s materials science division. Research area focus on materials compatibility and infection control, working on biocidal product formulation build, understanding formulation interactions with materials/surfaces and the impact of nonwoven substrates on product efficacy.