It's a trap! The development of a versatile drain biofilm model and its susceptibility to disinfection

Ledwoch, K., Robertson, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5345-7846, Lauran, J., Norville, P. and Maillard, J.-Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8617-9288 2020. It's a trap! The development of a versatile drain biofilm model and its susceptibility to disinfection. Journal of Hospital Infection 106 (4) , pp. 757-764. 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.08.010

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Abstract

Background Pathogens in drain biofilms pose a significant risk for hospital-acquired infection. However, the evidence of product effectiveness in controlling drain biofilm and pathogen dissemination are scarce. A novel in-vitro biofilm model was developed to address the need for a robust, reproduceable and simple testing methodology for disinfection efficacy against a complex drain biofilm. Methods Identical complex drain biofilms were established simultaneously over 8 days, mimicking a sink trap. Reproducibility of their composition was confirmed by next-generation sequencing. The efficacy of sodium hypochlorite 1000 ppm (NaOCl), sodium dichloroisocyanurate 1000 ppm (NaDCC), non-ionic surfactant (NIS) and peracetic acid 4000 ppm (PAA) was explored, simulating normal sink usage conditions. Bacterial viability and recovery following a series of 15-min treatments were measured in three distinct parts of the drain. Results The drain biofilm consisted of 119 mixed species of Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. NaOCl produced a >4 log10 reduction in viability in the drain front section alone, while PAA achieved a >4 log10 reduction in viability in all of the drain sections following three 15-min doses and prevented biofilm regrowth for >4 days. NIS and NaDCC failed to control the biofilm in any drain sections. Conclusions Drains are one source of microbial pathogens in healthcare settings. Microbial biofilms are notoriously difficult to eradicate with conventional chemical biocidal products. The development of this reproducible in-vitro drain biofilm model enabled understanding of the impact of biocidal products on biofilm spatial composition and viability in different parts of the drain. Keywords

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Pharmacy Biosciences
Additional Information:	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0195-6701
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 October 2020
Date of Acceptance:	10 August 2020
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2023 23:19
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135908

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