Abstract
Surgical instruments are often strongly contaminated with patients' blood and tissues, possibly containing pathogens. The reuse of contaminated instruments without adequate cleaning and sterilization can cause postoperative inflammation and the transmission of infectious diseases from one patient to another. Thus, based on the stringent sterility requirements, the development of highly efficient, validated cleaning processes is necessary. Here, we use for the first time synthetic single-stranded DNA (ssDNA_ODN), which does not appear in nature, as a test soiling to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of routine washing processes. Stainless steel test objects were coated with a certain amount of ssDNA_ODN. After cleaning, the amount of residual ssDNA_ODN on the test objects was determined using quantitative real-time PCR. The established method is highly specific and sensitive, with a detection limit of 20 fg, and enables the determination of the cleaning efficiency of medical cleaning processes under different conditions to obtain optimal settings for the effective cleaning and sterilization of instruments. The use of this highly sensitive method for the validation of cleaning processes can prevent, to a significant extent, the insufficient cleaning of surgical instruments and thus the transmission of pathogens to patients.
Highlights
The complexity of some surgical instruments and their inaccessibility during routine cleaning processes hamper the residue-free removal of contaminants from the surface of instruments
We use for the first time synthetic single-stranded DNA, which does not appear in nature, as a test soiling to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of routine washing processes
We applied for the first time a synthetic single-stranded DNA library, which is commonly used as starting material for the selection of DNA aptamers, as a new artificial test soiling on test objects to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of medical cleaning machines
Summary
The complexity of some surgical instruments and their inaccessibility during routine cleaning processes hamper the residue-free removal of contaminants from the surface of instruments. Certain disinfection and sterilization of medical instruments can only be achieved with previous efficient cleaning. Residues such as tissue or blood can reduce the effectiveness of both disinfection and sterilization. Previous studies have used different test soils, such as citrated blood, mixtures of proteins, egg yolk, or semolina pudding, to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of medical cleaning and disinfection machines. Previous studies have generally validated the cleaning of medical instruments by the determination of residual proteins. We applied for the first time a synthetic single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) library, which is commonly used as starting material for the selection of DNA aptamers, as a new artificial test soiling on test objects to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of medical cleaning machines. Residual amounts of ssDNA can be ultrasensitively detected by the established quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) after the cleaning process (Figure 1)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
