Hypochlorite Water Research Articles

The combination of non-electrolytic hypochlorite water and ultrasonic treatment on the cleaning and preservation of baby cabbage

In the present study, the synergistic effect of non-electrolytic hypochlorite water (NEHW, 50 mg/L, pH, 5.8) immersion combined with ultrasonic treatment (US, 32 kHz) on the inactivation of bacteria and the maintenance of quality in baby cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) was evaluated. Baby cabbage was treated with tap water immersion, tap water immersion combined with ultrasonic treatment, NEHW immersion combined with ultrasonic treatment and nontreatment (as the control group), and be stored at 4 °C. The results showed that NEHW immersion combined with ultrasonic treatment improved the sensory freshness of baby cabbage, slowed down the rise of weight loss rate and relative conductivity, reduced the number of natural bacteria, yeast and mold, inhibited the rise of nitrate and nitrite content and inhibited the loss of Vitamin C (VC), total phenol and soluble sugar. It is suggested that the shelf life of baby cabbage can be effectively extended with the treatment of NEHW immersion combined with ultrasonic.

Environmental Monitoring of Food Manufacturing Facilities for Listeria: A Case Study

Environmental monitoring programs (EMPs) for food production facilities are useful for verifying general sanitation controls and are recommended as verification measures to ensure that the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plan is working effectively. In this study, EMPs for Listeria were conducted at three food production facilities to assess the efficacy of sanitation control and establish effective sanitation control methods. In Facility A, L. monocytogenes was detected in the clean area although in Zone 3, non–food-contact surfaces. To prevent contamination from dirty areas, the cleaning practices in the preparation room were investigated. Normal cleaning combined with disinfection with carbonated hypochlorite water (chlorine concentration, 150 ppm) proved effective. At Facility B, a salad product and its ingredients (pastrami and salami) were positive for L. monocytogenes serotype 3b. The bacterial count was <10/g in all samples. However, when inoculated with L. monocytogenes isolates, the growth of approximately 2 log cfu/g was observed on pastrami after 48 h of incubation at 10°C. The ingredients were commercially purchased blocks that were sliced in a slicer at Facility B and used as salad toppings. Because both unopened blocks were negative for L. monocytogenes, contamination of the slicer was suspected. Sampling of the slicer revealed that contamination by L. monocytogenes serotype 3b was more extensive after use than before use. Therefore, the slicer was disassembled, cleaned, and disinfected thoroughly. In Facility C, L. monocytogenes serotype 4b (4e) was detected in all the dirty, semiclean, and clean areas. The strain was also isolated from the wheels of a smoking cart transported across the zones. Therefore, efforts were made to frequently clean and disinfect the cart. EMPs revealed the presence of Listeria in each facility and allowed remedial measures to be undertaken. Continued monitoring and Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles were considered desirable.

Virus purification highlights the high susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 to a chlorine-based disinfectant, chlorous acid.

Chlorous acid water (HClO2) is known for its antimicrobial activity. In this study, we attempted to accurately assess the ability of chlorous acid water to inactivate SARS-CoV-2. When using cell culture supernatants of infected cells as the test virus, the 99% inactivation concentration (IC99) for the SARS-CoV-2 D614G variant, as well as the Delta and Omicron variants, was approximately 10ppm of free chlorine concentration with a reaction time of 10 minutes. On the other hand, in experiments using a more purified virus, the IC99 of chlorous acid water was 0.41-0.74ppm with a reaction time of 1 minute, showing a strong inactivation capacity over 200 times. With sodium hypochlorite water, the IC99 was 0.54ppm, confirming that these chlorine compounds have a potent inactivation effect against SARS-CoV-2. However, it became clear that when using cell culture supernatants of infected cells as the test virus, the effect is masked by impurities such as amino acids contained therein. Also, when proteins (0.5% polypeptone, or 0.3% BSA + 0.3% sheep red blood cells, or 5% FBS) were added to the purified virus, the IC99 values became high, ranging from 5.3 to 76ppm with a reaction time of 10 minutes, significantly reducing the effect. However, considering that the usual usage concentration is 200ppm, it was shown that chlorous acid water can still exert sufficient disinfection effects even in the presence of proteins. Further research is needed to confirm the practical applications and effects of chlorous acid water, but it has the potential to be an important tool for preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Proposal and Verification of the Theory of Layer-by-Layer Elimination of Biofilm in Listeria monocytogenes

Biofilms are microbial communities that represent a high abundance of microbial life forms on Earth. Within biofilms, structural changes during clearance processes occur in three spatial and temporal dimensions; therefore, microscopy and quantitative image analysis are essential in elucidating their function. Here, we present confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in conjunction with ISA-2 software analysis for the automated and high-throughput quantification, analysis, and visualisation of biofilm interiors and overall biofilm properties in three spatial and temporal dimensions. This paper discusses the removal process of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) biofilms using slightly acidic electrolytic water, non-electrolytic hypochlorite water, and alternating the use of strongly acidic and strongly alkaline electrolytic water. The results show that the biofilm gradually thins and gutters from the initial viscous dense and thick morphology under the action of either biocide. This process is consistent with first-level kinetics. After CLSM filming to observe the biofilm structure, analysis software was used to process and quantify the biovolume, average biofilm thickness, biofilm roughness and other indicators; fluorescence enzyme markers were used to verify the remaining amount of extracellular nucleic acid. In this study, we proposed and validated the theory of layer-by-layer elimination of LM biofilm.

Bactericidal Effect and Associated Properties of Non-Electrolytic Hypochlorite Water on Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria.

This study investigated the broad-spectrum bactericidal activity of non-electrolytic hypochlorite water (NEHW) and detected its hydroxyl radical content compared with that of slightly acidic electrolytic water (SAEW). Based on the results of UV scanning and storage stability, higher hypochlorite content and stronger oxidation were found to be responsible for the stronger bactericidal effect of NEHW. NEHW can achieve 99% bacterial disinfection effect by treating with 10 mg/L available chlorine concentration for more than 5 minutes. At the same time, the storage stability of NEHW was higher than that of SAEW. After 20 days of storage under sealed and dark conditions, the pH value only increased by 7.9%, and the effective chlorine concentration remained nearly 80%. The results showed that NEHW had higher germicidal efficacy and storage stability than SAEW.

Development of Virus Sterilization Device Applying Filtered Vent Technology

We have developed a demonstration machine of a large-capacity air purification system that purifies a large amount of polluted air using a gas-liquid mixing nozzle and a multi-layer metal fiber filter. A gas-liquid mixing nozzle, driven by the air blower, sucks and accelerates water to form a high-speed two-phase flow. In the centrifugal force field, all the fine particles and aerosols in the bubbles are transferred to the liquid phase water, and the hypochlorite water whose disinfecting effect has been confirmed by the Product Evaluation Technology Infrastructure Organization (NITE). The demo machine can remove fine particles and viruses in the air at 100 m3 per hour with a single nozzle. We have also developed a large-capacity air purification system that can purify 2400 m3 of air per hour with 24 nozzles. In the virus removal evaluation test conducted by The Japan Textile Products Quality and Technology Center (QTEC), the sterilization performance of 99.975% or more was confirmed. We aim to put this technology to practical use at an early stage to purify the air in hospitals, schools, office buildings, etc.

Developing chlorine-based antiseptic by electrolysis

The use of Alcohol-based antiseptics is efficient and approved, however it has some limitations. This paper examined the possibility of using hypochlorite water as a chlorine-based antiseptic for handwashing in public buildings and healthcare facilities. The electrolysis method was used, which produces Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) from mixing drinking water with small amounts of sodium hydroxide. Hypochlorous acid is usually produced by blood cells to surround pathogens when the skin is cut and exposed to pathogens. The methods used were based on hydrolysing drinking water at a different salt concentration (from 0 up to saline water 0.9% NaCl) under the different power supply. The results showed that 0.005–0.01% hydrochloride water can be a perfect antiseptic that can kill most bacteria and pathogenies within 12 s. In one prototype set up one litter of the prepared solution needed the only 2 g of NaCl, 12 V and 3 amps' power. However, the pH value should be maintained to be around 5–6. The results also showed that the most efficient way was to produce the solution on-site. However, if stored properly it can be used for 7–10 days after production.

First Report of Neofusicoccum parvum Causing Stem Canker and Necrosis of Phoebe sheareri in Zhejiang Province, China

Phoebe sheareri is a popular species established in Zhejiang province of China for timber. During surveys in June 2016, severe canker problems were observed in one plantation of P. sheareri in Kaihua county, Zhejiang. The disease started with black fusiform necrosis (8 to 15 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide) on the green bark of shoots, and the cankers could be found on branches and even the main stem (with diameter up to 10 cm). These cankers can girdle stems, resulting in the death of plant tissues above. Ten stem sections containing the junction between healthy and necrotic xylem from five symptomatic trees were collected. Sections of symptomatic xylem were surface sterilized in 5% sodium hypochlorite water solution and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C in the dark. After 3 days, seven isolates were generated by subculturing single hyphal tips onto fresh PDA medium and grown for 7 days in the dark. All seven isolates initially developed white aerial mycelium that later turned dark gray. After 2 weeks, black globular pycnidia could be found. The fusiform hyaline conidia were aseptate, with thin walls, and measured 20.9 ± 2.2 × 5.1 ± 0.4 μm. Three isolates (KHZJZ1 to KHZJZ3, respectively) were selected randomly for molecular characterization. The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), partial β-tubulin (tub2), and translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1) gene regions were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4, Bt2a/Bt2b, and EF1-728F/EF1-986R, respectively (Alves et al. 2008; Glass and Donaldson 1995; White et al. 1990). Gene sequences of all three fungal isolates were identical. The ITS, tub2, and tef1 sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession nos. MK131330, MK139576, and MK139575, respectively). A local BLASTn search revealed that the ITS, tub2, and tef1 sequences shared 99, 99, and 100% identity, respectively, to corresponding sequences of ex-type isolate Neofusicoccum parvum strain CMW9081 (accession nos. AY236943, AY236917, and AY236888, respectively). Pathogenicity tests were conducted by wounding stems of 2-year-old P. sheareri seedlings with a 5-mm-diameter cork borer. Wounds were inoculated with PDA plugs excised from 7-day-old cultures of the N. parvum isolate (KHZJZ1). Stems inoculated with sterile PDA plugs acted as controls. The inoculated stem wounds were wrapped with Parafilm, and the seedlings were kept under natural conditions grown in the field (18 to 30°C). There were five replicates of each treatment. After 21 days, the N. parvum-inoculated stems had developed black necrotic lesions (11 ± 5 mm long) on the bark, whereas the control plants remained asymptomatic. The fungus was reisolated from diseased plant tissue but not from the controls, thus fulfilling Koch’s postulates. N. parvum has previously been reported as the causal agent of canker and die-back of Eucalyptus (Iturritxa et al. 2011), stem blight of blueberry (Koike et al. 2014), and canker of other woody plants (Jayakumar et al. 2011). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. parvum causing canker of P. sheareri, which is becoming increasingly important in timber plantations in south China.

Diffusion of Handwashing Knowledge and Water Treatment Practices From Mothers in an Antenatal Hygiene Promotion Program to Nonpregnant Friends and Relatives, Machinga District, Malawi.

Access to safe drinking water and improved hygiene are essential for preventing diarrheal diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Integrating water treatment and hygiene products into antenatal clinic care can motivate water treatment and handwashing among pregnant women. Free water hygiene kits (water storage containers, sodium hypochlorite water treatment solution, and soap) and refills of water treatment solution and soap were integrated into antenatal care and delivery services in Machinga District, Malawi, resulting in improved water treatment and hygiene practices in the home and increased maternal health service use. To determine whether water treatment and hygiene practices diffused from maternal health program participants to friends and relatives households in the same communities, we assessed the practices of 106 nonpregnant friends and relatives of these new mothers at baseline and 1-year follow-up. At follow-up, friends and relatives were more likely than at baseline to have water treatment products observable in the home (33.3% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.00001) and detectable free chlorine residual in their water, confirming water treatment (35.7% vs. 1.4%; p < 0.00001). Qualitative data from in-depth interviews also suggested that program participants helped motivate adoption of water treatment and hygiene behaviors among their friends and relatives.

EFFECTS OF SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE ON THE PROTOSCOLICES OF ECHINOCOCCUS GRANULOSUS AND MEMBRANES OF HYDATID CYSTS

Aim . To assess sodium hypochlorite water solution anti-scolex activity against Echinococcus granulosus protoscolexies and effect on secondary echinococcus cysts envelopes. Material and methods. We preformed two in vitro trials of the sodium hypochlorite water solution 0.06%, 0.12%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 4%. Sodium hypochlorite water solution anti-scolex activity versus exposure and the concentration of the drug was assessed in the first trial. Two drops of sodium hypochlorite water solution of various concentrations were added to the drop of the echinococcal fluid with living protoscalexes. The morphological changes of the parasite were investigate with a light microscope with a 100X magnification. The death of protoscolexes occurred within the first minute after the addition of sodium hypochlorite water solution, irrespective of solution concentration. The effect of sodium hypochlorite water solution on the secondary Echinococcus granulosus cysts envelopes was evaluated in the second trial. Envelopes fragments of the secondary echinococcal cysts were placed in tubes with sodium hypochlorite water solution in different concentrations. The changes were evaluated macroscopically. The envelopes of the secondary echinococcal cysts were completely dissolved in all tubes with sodium hypochlorite water solution. Results . The experimental data have showed that sodium hypochlorite water solution is an effective anti-scolex medication enabling completely dissolution of the secondary echinococcal cysts envelops. Conclusions. Considering that sodium hypochlorite is thoroughly investigated and safe for human body, sodium hypochlorite could be “ultimate” anti-scolex medication, enabling extension of indications and ad value for less invasive percutaneous interventions under radiation control in echinococcosis.

First Report of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. pisi as Causal Agent of Root and Crown Rot on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Southern Italy.

Epidemiological investigations in representative chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) fields in southern Italy (Larino, Campobasso, 41°50'45″ N, 14°55'28″ E) identified severe withering (25 to 51%) of plants during flowering. Diseased plants showed a reduced total root biomass associated with less vigorous and chlorotic foliage. Browning and necrosis of subcortical and xylematic tissues of the crown and main roots were observed in affected plants. Symptomatic root and stem portions from 50 plants were sampled, surface disinfected with a sodium hypochlorite water solution (2% v/v for 2 min), rinsed with sterile distilled water, and placed in petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar with streptomycin sulfate (200 mg/l) and incubated at 25°C for 10 days. The most frequent fungal colony isolated showed macro- and microscopic characters specific of the genus Fusarium (3), with falcate and three-septate macroconidia (24.0 to 43.8 μm long) and microconidia (6.8 to 10.4 μm long) with zero or one septa. The ribosomal DNA of the fungal isolate processed by PCR using the ITS1F/ITS4 primers (2) produced an amplicon of 545 bp (ENA, Accession No. HG423346). A BLAST search with the amplified sequence in the database of the International Mycological Association ( www.mycobank.org ) revealed 99% identity with F. oxysporum sequences. Additional molecular analysis using the specific primers Foc0-12/Foc0-12rf for F. oxysporum f.sp. ciceris (Foc) produced an amplicon only in the chickpea virulent strain Foc-7952, race 0 (1) used as control; furthermore, PCR amplification for the Pisatin Demetylase gene by using the specific primers PDAF2a and PDAR3a (4) yielded the expected amplicon only for the new isolate, whereas no amplification was obtained with the control strain Foc-7952. Pathogenicity assays were carried out to complete Koch's postulates. To this aim, horticultural peat was infested with a conidial suspension (1 × 104 conidia/g of soil) from the new fungal pathogen, dispensed in plastic pots, and sown with surface sterilized seeds of chickpea (cv. Real, ISEA, Italy). Uncontaminated peat was used as control. For both treatments, 3 replicates of 10 seeds were used and experiments repeated twice. The plastic pots were kept in a growth chamber (28°C; 70% RH; 15/9 h light/dark) where the first disease symptoms on plants appeared 20 days after sowing. At the end of the experiments, all plants inoculated with the new isolate showed a high disease severity (98%), whereas non-inoculated plants remained healthy. The seedlings from infested soil demonstrated the same symptoms previously observed in the field, and after re-isolation, the causal agent demonstrated the same morphological features of the isolate used for inoculation. Pathogenicity tests were performed on pea, faba bean, melon, and tomato by using three cultivars for each crop. The results demonstrated high virulence of the new isolate of F. oxysporum f.sp. pisi (Fop) on both chickpea and pea with seed germination reduction, rot on main and secondary roots and cotyledonary leaves, and root biomass reduction and foliage chlorosis. No symptoms were observed on other inoculated vegetal species. Collectively, data of our investigation allow us to affirm that this is the first report of Fop as a new pathogen of chickpea. This result has great economic importance since it enables specific monitoring and management plans for this new disease caused by Fop on chickpea, a key crop for human and animal nutrition.

A study for biofilm removing and antimicrobial effects by microbubbled tap water and other functional water, electrolyzed hypochlorite water and ozonated water

The purpose of this study was to examine the biofilm removing and antimicrobial effects of microbubbled tap water and other functional water. The biofilm removal test showed that the activity of microbubbled tap water against the biofilm of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans was significantly higher than that of ordinary tap water (p<0.01). When the antimicrobial activities of two types of functional water were compared, the activity of electrolyzed hypochlorite water was significantly stronger than that of the ozonated water (p<0.01). The antimicrobial effect of the electrolyzed hypochlorite water was increased in the microbubbled form, and was stronger than microbubbled tap water. The same results were obtained not only for biofilms, but also for planktonic microbes. Our results demonstrated that the microbubbled water showed strong biofilm removing effects. Moreover, the application of functional water, such as electrolyzed hypochlorite microbubbled water was effective for both removing and sterilizing biofilms.

The Use of Reinforced Concrete in Hypochlorite Water Purification Works

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