Enzyme Surgical Instrument Cleaners -
what are Enzyme Surgical Instrument Cleaners
Protease, Amylase, Lipase, and Carbohydrase surgical instrument cleaning enzymes.
The 4 enzymes needed for high performance surgical instrument cleaners are listed below with the specific surgical instrument cleaning function they perform. Surgical Instrument Cleaners that do not deliver these 4 surgical instrument cleaning enzymes will not be able to remove all forms of proteinaceous bioburden.
Lipase Enzymes: to breakdown fat from surgical instruments, to cleave fatty acid residue from the glycerol residue in a neutral fat or a phospholipid.
Amylase Enzymes:
(to breakdown starch) to catalyze the hydrolysis of starch to sugar to produce carbohydrate derivatives.
Carbohydrase Enzymes:
(to breakdown starch to a lower level) to catalyze the hydrolysis of higher carbohydrates to lower forms
Protease Enzymes:
(breakdown blood) including the proteinases and peptidases, to catalyze the hydrolytic breakdown of proteins.
The use of enzymatic enzyme detergents allows lower temperatures and shorter periods of mechanical cleaning to be employed, often after a preliminary period of soaking. In general, enzyme detergents remove protein from clothes soiled with blood, milk, sweat, grass, etc. far more effectively than non-enzyme detergents. At present only proteases and amylases are commonly used. Although a wide range of lipases is known, it is only very recently that lipases suitable for use in detergent preparations have been deployed.
This Surgical Instrument Cleaner complies with Surgical Instrument and Surgical Instrument Washer specifications and is classified as a non hazardous enzyme detergent.
Enzyme Detergents
Enzymatic Detergents
Enzymatic enzyme detergents for cleaning surgical instruments.
Enzymatic enzyme detergents must be cost-effective and safe to use.
Early attempts to use proteases floundered because users developed hypersensitivity. This was combated by developing dust-free granulates (about 0.5 mm in diameter) in which the enzyme is incorporated into an inner core, containing inorganic salts (e.g. NaCI) and sugars as preservative, bound with reinforcing, fibers of carboxymethyl cellulose or similar protective colloid. This core is coated with inert waxy materials made from paraffin oil or polyethylene glycol plus various hydrophilic binders, which later disperse in the wash. This combination of materials both prevents dust formation and protects the enzymes against damage by other detergent components during storage. It has been reported that spraying enzymatic enzyme detergent cleaning products has resulted in respiratory irritations. It is suspected that this is due to the enzyme aerosols. Applying the enzymatic enzyme detergent in a liquid of foam state should avoid this potential complication.
The “average” compositions of an enzymatic enzyme detergent product:
Constituent Composition (%)
Sodium tripolyphosphate (water softener, loosens dirt) 38.0%
Sodium alkane sulphonate (surfactant) 25.0%
Sodium perborate tetrahydrate (oxidising agent) 25.0%
Soap (sodium alkane carboxylates) 3.0%
Sodium sulphate (filler, water softener) 2.5%
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (dirt-suspending agent) 1.6%
Sodium metasilicate (binder, loosens dirt) 1.0%
Bacillus protease (3% active) 0.8%
Fluorescent brighteners 0.3
Foam-controlling agents Trace
Perfume (optional) Trace to cover the otherwise potentially unacceptable aromas
Coloring (optional) Trace to provide visual evidence to the user that product is present
Enzyme Detergents
Enzymatic Detergents
Enzymatic enzyme detergents for cleaning surgical instruments.
A recent trend is to reduce this phosphate content within enzymatic enzyme detergents for environmental reasons. It may be replaced by sodium carbonate plus extra protease. There is no reason that correlates with product efficacy for an enzymatic enzyme detergent to be other than "green".
The Surgical Instrument Cleaner with Conditioners™ product is used worldwide for cleaning surgical instruments cleaner. This cleaner is 100% biodegradable and Neutral pH. This Surgical Instrument Cleaner complies with Surgical Instrument and Surgical Instrument Washer specifications and is classified as a non hazardous enzyme detergent.
The enzymes used for enzymatic enzyme detergents are produced using species of Bacillus, mainly by just two companies. Novo Industri A/S produce and supply three proteases, Alcalase, from B. licheniformis, Esperase, from an alkalophilic strain of a B. licheniformis and Savinase, from an alkalophilic strain of B. amyloliquefaciens (often mistakenly attributed to B. subtilis). GistBrocades produce and supply Maxatase, from B. licheniformis. Alcalase and Maxatase (both mainly subtilisin) are recommended for use at 10-65°C and pH 7-10.5. Savinase and Esperase may be used at up to pH 11 and 12, respectively. The a-amylase supplied for detergent use is Termamyl, the enzyme from B. licheniformis which is also used in the production of glucose syrups. a-Amylase is particularly useful in washing glassware and with de-starching detergents.
Enzymatic enzyme detergent preparations in a non-ionic surfactant are available for formulating in liquid 'spotting' concentrates, and are typically used for removing stubborn stains. Preparations containing both Termamyl and Alcalase are produced. Termamyl is sufficiently resistant to proteolysis to retain activity long enough to fulfill its function.
It should be noted that all the enzymatic enzyme detergent proteolytic enzymes described are fairly non-specific serine endoproteases, giving preferred cleavage on the carboxyl side of hydrophobic amino acid residues but capable of hydrolysing most peptide links. They convert their substrates into small, readily soluble fragments which can be removed easily from fabrics. Only serine protease; may be used in enzymatic enzyme detergent formulations: thiol proteases (e.g. papain) would be oxidized by the bleaching agents, and metalloproteases (e.g. thermolysin) would lose their metal cofactors due to the reaction with the water softening agents or hydroxyl ions.