Bacteria disinfection method and disinfectant

Abstract

To provide a disinfection method for pathogens and a disinfectant for pathogens, enabling effective disinfection of pathogens with low toxicity and reduced impact on the environment.SOLUTION: A disinfection method for pathogens 3 is designed to disinfect a pathogen 3 including a protectant in a cell wall 8. This method includes: a first step where the pathogen 3 is brought into contact with alkaline solution; and a second step where the pathogen 3, following at least a predetermined duration since the contact with the alkaline solution, is then brought into contact with either acidic or neutral solution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for disinfecting pathogens that contain a protective substance in their cell walls, and a disinfectant for pathogens. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, Johne's disease has been known as a disease of ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, etc. At present, there is no vaccine that is effective in preventing infection with Johne's disease, nor is there an antibiotic that is effective in treating the disease. In addition, since the cell wall of Johne's disease contains a large amount of lipids and the disease is highly resistant to disinfection, powerful chemicals such as hydrated lime and chlorine agents are used as disinfectants for Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the pathogen of Johne's disease (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Reiko Nagata, The latest information on livestock diseases (XIII) - Johne's disease, Journal of the Japan Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 69 No. 2 (2016) p. 66-68 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in general, highly toxic drugs are not only toxic to humans and animals, but also have a large environmental impact. Therefore, a method is desired that can effectively disinfect pathogens such as Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, which are highly resistant to disinfection and protect themselves with lipids and other protective substances, with less toxicity and less environmental impact.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for disinfecting pathogens and a disinfectant for pathogens that are less toxic and can effectively disinfect pathogens with a small environmental load. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The method for disinfecting pathogens described in claim 1 is a method for disinfecting pathogens that contain a protective substance in their cell walls, and includes a first step of contacting the pathogens with an alkaline liquid, and a second step of contacting the pathogens with an acidic liquid or a neutral liquid after a predetermined time has elapsed since contacting the pathogens with the alkaline liquid.

[0007] The method for disinfecting pathogens described in claim 2 is a method for disinfecting pathogens that contain a protective substance in their cell walls, and includes a first step of contacting the pathogens with an alkaline liquid, and a second step of contacting the pathogens with an acidic liquid after a predetermined time has elapsed since the contact with the alkaline liquid, in which the alkaline liquid used in the first step is alkaline electrolyzed water obtained from the cathode side of an electrolysis device that electrolyzes water to be electrolyzed, and the acidic liquid used in the second step is hypochlorous acid water obtained from the anode side of the electrolysis device.

[0008] The pathogen disinfection method according to claim 3 is the pathogen disinfection method according to claim 2, in which the alkaline electrolyzed water and the hypochlorous acid water are each salt-free or low-salt electrolyzed water.

[0009] The pathogen disinfectant described in claim 4 is a pathogen disinfectant used in claim 1 or 2, and has a first liquid having an alkaline liquid as a main component, and a second liquid having an acidic liquid or a neutral liquid as a main component. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, pathogens can be effectively disinfected with low toxicity and little environmental load. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing a schematic diagram of a pathogen disinfection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] The disinfectant of this embodiment has a first liquid 1 mainly composed of an alkaline liquid, and a second liquid 2 mainly composed of an acidic or neutral liquid, preferably an acidic liquid, and is used for disinfecting (killing) pathogenic microorganisms (pathogenic bacteria) 3. Here, "mainly composed" means that it is the main component among the components constituting the liquid. Therefore, this embodiment does not exclude the inclusion of other components that do not inhibit the function of the main component in the first liquid 1 and the second liquid 2.

[0014] The alkaline liquid has the effect of decomposing protective substances such as lipids. The alkaline liquid may be a detergent that decomposes protective substances such as lipids, but in this embodiment, alkaline electrolyzed water (electrolytically generated alkaline water) is preferably used. The acidic liquid and the neutral liquid may be any liquid such as a chemical solution, but the acidic liquid is preferably acidic electrolyzed water (electrolytically generated acidic water), and the neutral liquid is preferably neutral electrolyzed water (electrolytically generated neutral water).

[0015] The alkaline electrolyzed water and the acidic electrolyzed water are reduced waters produced by electrolyzing water to be electrolyzed, such as sodium chloride aqueous solution, hydrochloric acid, or a mixture thereof, using a known two-chamber or three-chamber electrolysis device. The alkaline electrolyzed water and the acidic electrolyzed water are preferably salt-free or low-salt in order to prevent salt damage, and in this embodiment, salt-free alkaline electrolyzed water and acidic electrolyzed water produced by, for example, a three-chamber electrolysis device are used.

[0016] As an example, alkaline electrolyzed water is generated by electrolysis reaction on the cathode side of an electrolysis device. As the alkaline electrolyzed water, for example, pH 10, preferably pH 11.0 or more is suitably used. The alkaline electrolyzed water of this embodiment returns to neutral by contacting with air over time, and has extremely low toxicity and environmental impact.

[0017] Acidic electrolyzed water is hypochlorous acid (HClO) water produced by an electrolysis reaction on the anode side of an electrolysis device, as described below.

[0018] H2O → 2H + +1 / 2O2+2e - 2Cl - → Cl2+2e - Cl2+H2O ⇔ HClO+HCl

[0019] As the acidic electrolyzed water, for example, weakly acidic hypochlorous acid water with pH 2.2-7.5 and effective chlorine concentration 10-100ppm, preferably pH 2.7-5.0 and effective chlorine concentration 10-60ppm is suitably used. That is, the acidic electrolyzed water of the present embodiment is hypochlorous acid water designated as a food additive, which has low stability, is decomposed in a short time by contact with air, and has extremely low toxicity and environmental load.

[0020] As the neutral electrolyzed water, a mixture of the alkaline electrolyzed water and the acidic electrolyzed water in an appropriate ratio is preferably used, and more preferably, the neutral electrolyzed water is used that meets the standards for water for food production specified by the Food Sanitation Law except for the effective chlorine concentration. As the neutral electrolyzed water, the one with a pH of, for example, 5.8 to 8.6, which is the standard for tap water, is preferably used.

[0021] FIG. 1(a) shows a schematic diagram of an example of a pathogenic bacterium 3. In general, the pathogenic bacterium 3 has a protoplasm having a nucleus 4 containing chromosomes and a cytoplasm 5 containing proteins, for example, a double cell membrane 6, 7 covering the protoplasm, and a cell wall 8 covering the cell membrane 6, 7. The pathogenic bacterium 3 containing a large amount of protective substances such as lipids or proteins in the cell wall 8 is protected by the large amount of protective substances, so that the disinfectant does not easily pass through the cell wall 8, and has a high resistance to the disinfectant, and the disinfectant effect is weak unless the disinfectant is a highly toxic disinfectant such as slaked lime or a chlorine agent, while the highly toxic disinfectant has a large environmental load. As an example of such a pathogenic bacterium 3, there is currently no effective vaccine or treatment for Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, which is an acid-fast bacterium that causes infectious enteritis (Johne's disease) in ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats, and wild birds and animals. Although measures such as keeping the breeding environment clean and early detection and isolation of infection in animals are taken, the effects are not sufficient.

[0022] Therefore, the method for disinfecting pathogens according to the present embodiment includes a first step of contacting the pathogens 3 with a sufficient amount of a first liquid 1 containing an alkaline liquid to dissolve and remove protective substances contained in the cell wall 8 of the pathogens 3 and reduce resistance, as shown in FIG. 1(a), and a second step of disinfecting (sterilizing) the pathogens 3 after a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the first liquid (alkaline liquid) 1 was contacted with the pathogens 3 in the first step by contacting the pathogens with a second liquid 2 containing an acidic liquid or a neutral liquid, as shown in FIG. 1(b). In other words, the "predetermined time" is a time set according to the pathogens 3, and is a predetermined time, for example, several tens of seconds to several minutes, for example, 5 minutes or less, required to remove a predetermined amount of protective substances contained in the cell wall 8 of the pathogens 3. In addition, in the second step, the sterilization and disinfection effect is basically instantaneous, which is shorter than the first step, for the pathogens 3 contacted with the second liquid 2.

[0023] In this way, by using an acidic or neutral liquid to disinfect pathogens 3 whose resistance to disinfection by protective substances has been reduced by removing protective substances such as lipids contained in cell walls 8 using an alkaline liquid, the pathogens 3 can be effectively disinfected with low toxicity and little environmental load. In particular, an acidic liquid permeates the cell membranes 6, 7 of the pathogens 3 from which protective substances have been removed, destroys the internal nucleus 4, proteins, membrane transport systems, etc. by oxidizing action, and divides the cells, so that it has a greater disinfecting effect on pathogens 3 than a neutral liquid.

[0024] In addition, the "predetermined time" is a predetermined time of several minutes or less, which enables disinfection in a short time. For example, in the case of disinfecting a wide area of ​​a facility or the like, if the disinfection target is one that takes a predetermined time or more from the start of contact with the alkaline liquid to the end of contact with the entire area, at the end of the first step, the protective substances contained in the cell walls 8 of the pathogens 3 will have been removed in sequence from the area that was first contacted with the alkaline liquid, making it possible to move directly to the second step without any substantial waiting time.

[0025] In addition, the alkaline liquid contained in the first liquid 1 and the acid liquid contained in the second liquid 2 can be produced as alkaline electrolyzed water and hypochlorous acid water on the cathode side and the anode side, respectively, by electrolysis reaction in the same electrolysis device that electrolyzes the water to be electrolyzed, such as sodium chloride aqueous solution or hydrochloric acid, and can be taken out separately, so that the disinfectant can be easily produced and inexpensive. Even if the second liquid 2 contains a neutral liquid, the neutral liquid can be easily produced as neutral electrolyzed water by mixing the alkaline electrolyzed water and the acid electrolyzed water produced by electrolysis reaction in the same electrolysis device, so that the disinfectant can be easily produced and inexpensive.

[0026] In particular, by using salt-free or low-salt alkaline electrolyzed water and hypochlorous acid water, salt damage caused by the disinfectant after use for disinfection can be prevented.

[0027] Furthermore, the above-mentioned disinfectants, the first liquid 1 and the second liquid 2, each have low toxicity to humans and animals and have a small environmental impact, and therefore can be easily used for regular disinfection and sterilization treatment of hands, clothes, shoes, objects, vehicles, facilities, etc., for example, on livestock farms, and can be suitably used for cleaning or spraying inside step-in disinfection tanks and facilities, or spraying on soil and compost, which are habitats for pathogens. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 First liquid 2 Second liquid 3 Pathogens 8 cell wall

Claims

1. A method for disinfecting bacteria that contains a protective substance in its cell wall, comprising: a first step of contacting the bacteria with an alkaline liquid; a second step of contacting the bacteria with an acidic or neutral liquid after a predetermined time has elapsed since the contact with the alkaline liquid; A method for disinfecting bacteria, comprising:

2. A method for disinfecting bacteria that contains a protective substance in its cell wall, comprising: a first step of contacting the bacteria with an alkaline liquid; a second step of contacting the bacteria with an acidic liquid after a predetermined time has elapsed since the contact with the alkaline liquid, The alkaline solution used in the first step is alkaline electrolyzed water obtained from the cathode side of an electrolysis device that electrolyzes water to be electrolyzed, The acidic solution used in the second step is hypochlorous acid water obtained from the anode side of the electrolysis device. A method for disinfecting bacteria, comprising:

3. Alkaline electrolyzed water and hypochlorous acid water are salt-free or low-salt electrolyzed water, respectively.

3. The method for disinfecting bacteria according to claim 2.

4. A disinfectant for bacteria used in claim 1 or 2, A first liquid containing an alkaline liquid as a main component; A second liquid containing an acidic liquid or a neutral liquid as a main component. A disinfectant for bacteria characterized by:

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