New non-alcoholic formulation for hand disinfection. (April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Biagi, Marco; Giachetti, Daniela; Miraldi, Elisabetta; Figura, Natale
• Is Part Of: Journal of chemotherapy. Volume 26:Number 2(2014:Apr.)
• Page Start: 86
• Page End: 91
• Publication Date: 2014-04
• Subjects: Chemotherapy -- Periodicals; Drug Therapy -- Periodicals; 615.58
• DOI: 10.1179/1973947813Y.0000000111
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1120-009X

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <p>Hand washing is considered as the single most important strategy to prevent infections. World health organization (WHO) defines hand hygiene as a primary issue of personal care with particular reference to hospital personnel and health facility workers. In this work, we investigated a new combination for hand disinfection as an alternative to alcohol-based and chlorhexidine products. The new combination of 5-pyrrolidone-2-carboxylic acid (PCA) and copper sulphate pentahydrate (CS) was tested upon different bacterial species that normally colonize hands, including <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>, methicillin resistant <italic>S. aureus</italic> (MR <italic>S. aureus</italic>), <italic>Staphylococcus epidermidis</italic>, multidrug resistant <italic>S. epidermidis</italic> (MDR <italic>S. epidermidis</italic>), <italic>Streptococcus pyogenes</italic>, <italic>Streptococcus agalactiae</italic>, <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>, <italic>Candida albicans</italic> and three clinical isolates: MR <italic>S. aureus</italic>, MDR <italic>S. epidermidis</italic>, and an <italic>E. coli</italic> strain. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), Minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices, and fractional bactericidal concentration (FBC) indices were evaluated. Ethanol 70% V/V, isopropanol 60% V/V, and 4% w/V chlorhexidine solution were used as reference hand disinfectants. Copper sulphate pentahydrate was very effective against all tested microorganisms: The MIC and MBC for CS ranged from 781 mg/l against <italic>S. pyogenes</italic> to 12500 mg/l against <italic>E. coli</italic> strains and <italic>C. albicans</italic>. In addition, PCA exhibited a good antimicrobial activity, in particular, against <italic>S. pyogenes</italic> and <italic>S. agalactiae</italic>. The combination of CS and PCA showed a strong synergistic effect and all FIC indices were ≤0·500. The combination of CS and PCA were more effective than ethanol 70% V/V and isopropanol 60% V/V. In addition to antimicrobial activity, the new formulation possesses peculiar features such as residual activity and moisturizing effect. This work identifies a new strategy for hand disinfection.</p> </sec> </abstract>