GLUTARALDEHYDE RETAINS ITS DISINFECTANT PROPERTIES IN PRESENCE OF HYDROXYPROPYLMETHYL CELLULOSE(HPMC) GEL

Explanted medical devices are routinely sent to laboratories at the Ce nter for Devices and Radiological Health for analysis, The shipping of these devices presents potential hazards to personnel as well as an o pportunity for damage to the devices. In an effort to address these co ncerns, a viscous disinfecting shipping medium that would limit splash ing and cushion a suspended device was proposed, Consequently, we inve stigated the disinfectant properties of adding a gelling agent, hydrox ypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) to common disinfectants, We found that the germicidal effectiveness of 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.05 M borax wh en tested against Bacillus subtilis spores was not changed by the addi tion of 2% HPMC, In addition, HPMC appears to be compatible with 70% e thanol and at least one commercial disinfectant containing a quaternar y ammonium compound, Preliminary experiments indicate that an HPMC-dis infectant gel is a potentially useful packaging agent for minimizing t he hazards to personnel and materials during shipping of explanted med ical devices, The use of such a medium would be subject to guidelines within the context of a program for handling biologically contaminated materials. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.