EP3015538B1

EP3015538B1 - Disinfectant and/or cleaning article, use thereof and method for disinfecting and/or cleaning surfaces, tools and/or instruments

Info

Publication number: EP3015538B1
Application number: EP14191565.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jesper Heeno Andersen
Original assignee: Wet Wipe AS
Current assignee: Wet Wipe AS
Priority date: 2014-11-03
Filing date: 2014-11-03
Publication date: 2021-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 2034-11-03
Also published as: DK3015538T3; EP3015538A1

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disinfectant and cleaning article comprising a nonwoven cloth which is impregnated with a disinfectant composition.
In addition, the present invention relates to a method for disinfecting and/or cleaning surfaces, tools and/or instruments.
Finally, the present invention relates to the use of the disinfectant and cleaning article.

Background of the Invention

Single use wipes, such as nonwoven cloths impregnated with a cleaning or disinfection solution are widely used in the health care sector and food processing industry for cleaning or disinfecting of areas, which come into contact with skin, food and/or food ingredients.
The cloths used in wipes are usually nonwoven and made of a mixture of cellulose and viscose and/or polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, PET) fibres.
In a daily routine, e.g. in hospitals or food processing plants, wiping of surfaces which come into contact with hands, skin, food and/or food ingredients is typically carried out with alcohol-based disinfectants due to requirement of a short incubation time and relatively fast drying time of the disinfection liquid. In addition, alcohol based disinfectants are often preferred over water based disinfectant when residues of water based disinfectants must be rinsed off after disinfection.
Alcohol-based disinfectants are inactivated by blood, body fluids, secretions. Thus, when using wipes containing alcohol(s) or alcohol based disinfectants, a thorough disinfection of surfaces contaminated by blood, body fluids, secretions is typically performed in a time consuming and demanding two-step process where the contaminated surface is first washed with detergent and water or cleaned with pre-moistened nonwoven or fibre cloths containing water and detergents. The washing step is then followed by disinfection with the alcoholic solution, e.g. with spray or wipes containing alcohol-based disinfectant. The final disinfection must be carried out when the cleaned surface is completely dry which can take up-to 15 minutes, and thus requires excessive waiting time for the cleaning personnel or requires that the cleaning personnel reverts and performs the second disinfecting step before leaving the area. Alternatively, the cleaning personnel must actively dry the surfaces with paper towels between the washing step and the alcohol disinfection step. Disinfection with alcohol based disinfectants before cleaned surfaces are effectively dried up can result in dilution inactivation of the alcohol.
Throughout the present application such impregnated wipes used for cleaning in general, in particular in cleaning within the food industry or in medical surgery or examination facilities, e.g. in hospitals, are called wipes.
Other wipes are impregnated with a solution containing a disinfecting agent, e.g. based on disinfectants. For example, disinfection wipes comprising the biocides poly hexa methylene biguanide (PHMB) and alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC) are marketed by the Danish company Wet Wipe situated in Vallensbaek. It has been observed that some wipes having certain compositions of fibres do not release PHMB or ADBAC in sufficient amounts necessary for obtaining efficient disinfection of surfaces when evaluating bactericidal activity on surfaces according to the well-known standard EN13697:2001 E (See Table 9 below).
Disinfection liquids were obtained by pressing the wipe liquor out of disinfection wipes impregnated with a disinfectant composition (batch jha-119) comprising 0.18 % PHMB and 0.25 % ADBAC. The concentration of PHMB was determined to 0.13 % in a wipe liquor obtained from a disinfection wipe with 70% viscose fibre and 0.18 % in a wipe liquor obtained from a disinfection wipe with 10% viscose fibre (See Table 9 below).
When tested for disinfection effect, i.e. bactericidal activity, providing at least 10⁴ reduction in number of viable bacterial cells on surfaces according to EN 13697 a metal disc smeared with a bacterial film (comprising viable bacterial cells belonging to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus hirae and/or Staphylococcus aureus) where no mechanical effect is applied to the surface after application; a disinfectant composition identical to batch jha-119 (batch jha-183) shows an initial slow reduction (hereafter called lag phase) and a sudden unexpected accelerated kill rate after 5 minutes incubation (See Table 10). It is assumed that it takes about 5 minutes for the disinfectant to dissolve (suspend) or penetrate the bacterial film so that there is contact between the active substances PHMB and ADBAC and the bacteria in the bacterial film. Thus, there is a nonlinear time relationship in the logarithmic kill rate. Batch jha-183 showed a log reduction > 6.8 by incubation for 10 minutes. Possibly because the polymeric active substance PHMB and ADBAC exhibits a poor ability to penetrate a bacterial film smeared on the test disc used in EN13697:2001 E. A disinfectant composition (batch jha-185) comprising 0.3 % PHMB, but otherwise identical to batch jha-183, showed a limited improved log reduction after 5 minutes incubation according to EN13697:2001 E (see Table 10). Possibly because the polymeric active substance PHMB exhibits a poor ability to penetrate a bacterial film smeared on the test disc used in EN13697:2001 E.
The lag phase discussed above is measurable for disinfectants containing surface active biocides. The active phase, where the kill rate is increased, which follows the lag phase, can very shortly for some disinfectants if the composition is not properly formulated. The shorter the active phase the higher is the required active substance concentration to pass the log 4 requirement of EN 13697 in 5 minutes. The kill rate in the active phase follows linear disinfection kinetics according to Chick-Watsons law.

Disinfection formulations comprising PHMB did in an unpublished work by Otto Haarder at Wet Wipe A/S and Jesper Heeno Andersen at Brenntag Nordic A/S during the SIB research programme (www.sibprojekt.dk) show to have log reduction rates of up to 7 log within 1 minute's incubation in suspension test EN 1276 whereas disinfectants based on ADBAC < 0.2 % has no measureable log reduction within 1 minute's of incubation according to EN 1276 (See Table 2), supporting the finding that the poor disinfection efficacy of PHMB according to EN13697:2001 E is a slow suspension of bacteria in the bacterial film on the test disc in EN13697:2001 E.

Table 1
Microorganism	Contact time	Start Concentration [cfu/ml]	Log reduction 0,5 % PHMB 0,025 % ADBAC 0,05 %	Log reduction 1,0 % PHMB 0,05 % ADBAC 0,1 %	Log reduction 2,0 % PHMB 0,1 % ADBAC 0,2 %
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	1 min	1,6 x 10⁷	>7	>7	>7
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	5 min	1,6 x 10⁷	>7	>7	>7
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	30 min	1,6 x 10⁷	>7	>7	>7

Table 2
Microorganism	Contact time	Start Concentration [cfu/ml]	Log reduction ADBAC 0,05 %	Log reduction ADBAC 0,1 %	Log reduction ADBAC 0,2 %
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	1 min	2,9 x 10⁷	No effect	No effect	No effect
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	5 min	2,9 x 10⁷	4	5	6
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	30 min	2,9 x 10⁷	7	7	7

Biguanides (e.g. PHMB, PHMG and chlorhexidine-digluconate) are cationic disinfectants and as other cationic active substances, such as quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g. benzalkonium chloride, didecyl ammonium chloride) they tend to form polar bonds to negatively charged acid groups and polar surface groups on cellulose and viscose contained in the non-woven textiles. Thus, in order to achieve the minimum required disinfection efficacy, a higher concentration of the disinfectants is used in the solutions impregnated to the cloths. Thus, for nonwoven cloths containing high amounts of viscose and/or cellulose, this adhesion of cationic disinfectants to the fibres of the cloth is enhanced even more. To minimize the adhesion of cationic biocides to viscose and or cellulose nonwoven sodium chloride, sodium acetate, sodium-EDTA and similar sodium ion donors can be added to a disinfection formulation to compete with the binding of cationic biocides to negatively charged acid groups and polar surface groups. Adding amphoteric surfactants (zwitter ions) such as: disodium cocoamphodipropionate (CAS 68604-72-8), sodium cocopropylenediamine propionate (CAS 97659-50-2), cocoamidopropyl betaine (CAS 61789-40-0) to disinfectant formulations is another mean of minimizing the binding of cationic biocides to negatively charged acid groups and polar surface groups. The drawback of adding amphoteric surfactants to a disinfection formulation is enhanced foam and formation of macromolecular complexes between biocides, surfactants and other co-formulations, which may result in unpredictable formulation results such as precipitation or neutralisation of the active biocide molecules.
The minimum required disinfection efficacy defined is at least a 4 log reduction of the number of bacteria within a period of maximum 5 minutes. A log (logarithmic) reduction means that the number of microorganisms is reduced to 1/10^th of the initial number. Thus, a log 4 reduction means that the number of microorganisms is reduced to 1/10⁴ of the initial number within 5 minutes.
WO02/092750 A1 discloses a pre-moistened wipe for cleaning surfaces, which comprises an amphoteric surfactant with antimicrobial properties.
US 6495499 A discloses a floor cleaning wipe for cleaning floors. A number of anti-microbially active preservatives are suggested added to the impregnating liquid in order to preserve the wipes.
EP 343605 B describes the use of N,N, bis (3 amino propyl) laurylamine as an active ingredient in an aqueous disinfectant especially for disinfecting medical instruments. In EP 612470 B N,N, bis (3 amino propyl) laurylamine is used as an active ingredient in an aqueous disinfectant, especially for disinfecting medical instruments. In EP 1516042 B an aqueous solution of of N,N, bis (3 amino propyl) laurylamine is applied to surfaces as a layer of foam by spraying the solution on the surface and subsequently rinsing the surface with water or wiping off using a cloth.
These disinfecting compositions are applied to instruments by soaking the instruments in the solution or by applying the solution or the surface to be treated in amounts where the surface is visibly wetted and thus requires subsequent rinsing with water and/or wiping with a cloth in order to obtain a clean and disinfected surface.
Thus applying this type of disinfectant compositions also requires several separate working steps, which results in a time consuming cleaning and disinfection process.
Thus, there exists a need for efficient combined cleaning and disinfection articles for surfaces and/or instruments which requires a minimum of time used by personnel during cleaning and/or disinfection of surfaces, or tools or instruments, e.g. surgical instruments.
In addition, there exists a need for efficient combined cleaning and disinfection articles for surfaces and/or instruments which minimizes the use of disinfecting agents while providing an effective disinfection of the treated surface, tools or instruments.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above mentioned drawbacks of the prior art disinfection compositions based on cationic biocides and provide an alternative disinfection product which can effectively disinfect inanimate surfaces and/or instruments.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an alternative cleaning and disinfection product which can be used for the initial cleaning of surfaces and/or instruments as well as an effective disinfection thereof.
In addition, it is also an object of the present invention to provide an efficient product application process, which reduces the number of steps used by the personnel in the cleaning and disinfection process and/or reduces the overall time needed for effective cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and/or instruments.

Description of the Invention

These objects are met by the present application which discloses a disinfection and cleaning article, in the following also called a wipe, comprising a cloth of a nonwoven textile material containing at least 30% by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers, said nonwoven material being impregnated with a aqueous disinfectant composition, and said aqueous disinfectant composition having a pH of 8.0-9.5 when twisted out of the impregnated cloth.
Said aqueous disinfectant composition comprises a non-ionic disinfecting agent which is N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine; (in the following also called biocide); 100-1,500 ppm of one or more surfactants as suspension and wetting agents; 100 ppm to 1,500 ppm of a solvent; 100 ppm to 1,000 ppm of a complexing agent, which are solubilized or suspended in water, and where the sum of the components do not exceed 6,000 ppm in the resulting disinfectant aqueous composition.
The non-ionic biocide(s), the surfactant(s), the solvent(s) and the complexing agent(s) are all dissolved or suspended in a water base, thus forming a disinfectant composition. This disinfectant composition is then impregnated on the nonwoven material to form the disinfectant and cleaning articles or wipes.
The impregnated wipes are folded and packed in a liquid tight packaging unit comprising a re-closable opening for extracting one cloth at the time. Each package usually contains 10-100 of the impregnated cloths, e.g. 10, 25, 50, or 100 wipes.
The above mentioned lag phase mentioned for the disinfection formulations comprised of PHMB can be overcome by mixing the nonionic active biocide, which also demonstrates surface active properties, with an effective water based composition comprising surfactants, complexing agent(s)and a solvent.
The disinfectant wipes according to the present invention do not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art wipes, i.e. reduced release of disinfectant due to bonding of cationic disinfectants to the polar and acidic groups on cellulose, rayon and/or viscose in the nonwoven cloth, containing disinfectants, because there is no interaction between the polar and acidic groups of the nonwoven cloth material of the wipes and the nonionic disinfectants and surfactants present in the disinfectant composition.
The wipes according to the present invention showed excellent efficacy under high organic load resulting in a high log reduction measured for bacteria in the bacterial film in the surface test (similar to example 5 below). In addition, when using the wipes according to the present invention, the lag phase is insignificant or does not influence the efficacy of the disinfectant composition under the test conditions.
The mechanical non-biocidal action which occurs when the disinfectant composition is applied by wiping the wipes impregnated with the disinfectant composition across the surface also plays a role when reducing the lag phase, as the mechanical action also decreases the lag phase, because the bio film is rubbed with the wipes when compared to spraying the disinfectant on the surface or by immersing or dipping instruments into the disinfectant composition.
In addition, the drying time of a disinfection composition evenly spread on a test surface (e.g. a test surface as used in prEN16615 an uneven PVC plate coated with a PUR coating) using the wipes according to the invention is shorter than the drying time of a disinfection liquid not evenly spread, and which thus forms streaks or droplets on the surface).
When applied to a surface by traditional soaking wet cloths and thus providing a wet surface the liquid is typically applied in an amount of 9.5 g/m2 ± 2 g/m2 surface according to Büttgen et al (2008). Such wipes are dripping wet and surfaces defined as a soaking wet. At present it is not possible to produce wet wipes having an impregnation level of 650% which can provide this large amount of liquid 9.5 g/m2 to the surface, because the wipes will be so wet that they release liquid in the package, which is unwanted, because it becomes impossible to control the amount of biocide in each wipe and for safety reasons.
The applicant has therefore developed a method to define the optimal impregnation target ratio of a cloth that will assure the minimal required dose of the disinfectant to obtain a optimally wetted surface represented by the test surface of the PUR coated PVC flooring.
When a wipe is taken out of the packet it may e.g. contain liquid in a ratio of 250-300% The wipes wetting ratio then gradually decrease as the liquid is transferred to the surfaces during use and the wipes feels dry and are thrown away at around a liquid ratio of 140-160 %.
The wetting power of a wipes according to the invention, i.e. impregnated with different ratios of the disinfection composition, do not show a breakpoint at any wetting ratio of the wipes. Thus, the wipes according to the present invention are able to provide a fully wetted surface even at low wetting ratios of around 150% or even lower, where the user consider that the wipes feel dry.
The wipes according to the present invention comprise a composition comprising N, N bis (aminopropyl) lauryl amine as the non-ionic disinfectant in combination with the surfactants mentioned above, and in particular with lauryldimethylamine oxide as the surfactant. The resulting wipe showed a superb wetting of a test plate of PUR coated PVC flooring. Streaks only occurred below an impregnation ratio of 110% (See Table 6). The disinfection liquid flowed easily out of wipes
The wipes are impregnated with different levels of the disinfectant composition above 130% by weight, which is considered the minimum impregnation level at which the wipes can release and spread approximately the same amount of liquid disinfectant composition in an even layer on a test plate surface by wiping. This is a significant discovery, because it is not possible to produce a pack of disinfection wipes with uniform liquid distribution throughout pack of e.g. 10 to 100 wipes due to the gravity force driving the liquid from top to bottom of the stack of wipes. The liquid distribution through a stack of wipes follows a first order equation and reaches an equilibrium determined by the liquid dose, the individual cloth characteristic and the number of wipe in a stack.
The wipes according to the present invention are also able to apply the aqueous disinfectant composition impregnated on the wipes to the surface to be treated in an even layer on the surface to be treated in a way which ensure that the entire surface is wetted by a continuous liquid film. When applied to a surface by traditional soaking wet cloths and thus providing a wet surface the film layer is typically applied in an amount exceeding 9.5 g/m2 surface. Such a surface is defined as a soaking wet surface.
The ability of a (disinfectant) composition to cover the entire surface as a continuous film depend on the surface tension of the surface to be treated, the surface tension and wetting power of the (disinfectant) composition and the amount of (disinfectant) liquid applied. If the amount of (disinfectant) liquid is minimized the liquid film reaches a critical thickness where the film becomes instable and breaks into hills and thin valleys.
At present it is not possible to produce wipes having a liquid content, which can provide this large amount of liquid exceeding 9.5 g/m2 to the surface, because the wipes will be so wet that they release liquid in the package, which is unwanted, because it becomes impossible to control the amount of biocide in each wipe and for safety reasons. The present invention can provide a continuous film layer on the surface with significantly less liquid per surface area. The wipes according to the invention are able to provide a fully wetted surface where the liquid film layer is significantly thinner as in conventional cleaning techniques, because the film layer is typically applied in an amount of less than 5g/m², typically in an amount of 1.5-3 g/m², in particular 2-3 g/m² surface.
Thus, the wipes according to the present invention reduce the amount of disinfectant composition necessary to cover the entire surface with an even layer of the disinfectant composition, and thus provide a homogenous amount of the disinfecting agent to the treated surface.
In addition the wipes according to the present invention also reduces the time needed for effectively disinfecting the surface or instruments.
The wipes according to the present invention are suitable for use in:

Daily routine wiping of surfaces, which can be clean or dirty, in medical examination areas, which are in contact with a patient's or medical staffs skin and hands. In this case dirt is defined as organic and inorganic material of non-human origin except skin cells on contact surfaces.
Thorough disinfection of surfaces contaminated by human or animal blood, body fluids, secretions and/or contaminated with organic material of animal origin, e.g. in surgery and/or examination rooms in hospitals, veterinary clinics and/or food processing plants.
Cleaning of surgical instruments before disinfection of instruments in a beaker or washing machine.

The wipes according to the present invention has thus three different functions normally served by different products:
Daily routine wiping of surfaces, which come into contact with hand and skin is typically carried out with alcohol-based disinfectants due to requirement of: a short incubation time and short drying time of the disinfection liquid. Residues of water based disinfectant are undesirable, as residues must be rinsed off after disinfection, whereby alcohol based disinfectants are usually preferred as they leave no significant amounts of residues on the treated surfaces.
Alcohol-based disinfectants are inactivated by blood, body fluids, secretions, and a thorough disinfection of contaminated surfaces is therefore typically performed in a demanding two-step process where the contaminated surface is initially washed with detergent and water, or cleaned with pre-moistened cleaning cloths, e.g. wipes impregnated with a soap based detergent composition. Then disinfection with an alcohol-based disinfectant is performed. The final disinfection is carried out when the cleaned surface is completely dry which can take up-to 15 minutes when air drying. Alternatively, the surface can be wiped with a dry cloth.
Surgical invasive devices, such as fibre-endoscopes, are typically cleaned by soaking in enzyme-based cleaning products or cleaning products with a high alkaline pH, before the equipment is disinfected either by immersing into a disinfectant composition or washing machine.
The the nonwoven textile material of the wipes contain at least 30% by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers in combination with other fibers, such as polyester (polyethyelene terephthalate, PET). The cellulose fibers, and viscose and rayon, which both are modified cellulose fibers, contain polar groups and acidic groups.
It is preferred that the nonwoven material contains 50-85 % by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers and 15-50 % by weight of polyester fibers, preferably 60-80 % by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers and 20-40 % by weight of polyester fibers, because the increased amount of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers result in that the wipes can contain more of the aqueous disinfectant composition, without leaking of the disinfectant solution into the package. This is due to the increased number of fibers with polar groups, i.e. the viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers, which create polar bonds to the water molecules in the aqueous disinfectant composition, and thus increases the wipes overall ability to adsorb the aqueous composition.
The nonwoven textile cloth of the wipes has a thickness of 35-100 g/m², preferably 50-80 g/m², because they can contain the necessary amount of liquids for obtaining effective disinfection of a certain area with a cloth of a certain size while also being easy to extract from the packages. Thicker wipes, i.e. more than 100 g/m², tend to be more difficult to extract from the packages. For example, a wipe having a thickness of 50-80 g/m² and a size of e.g. 20∗30 cm will be able to disinfect an area of 1-2 m², while an identical larger of wipe, e.g. 45-45cm∗20 cm, will be able to disinfect an area of typically 2-4 m².
The nonwoven textile cloths used in the wipes are preferably structured, i.e. the cloths contain small perforations across the entire surface (see fig. 1), because this increases the overall surface of the wipes and thus increases the surface area of the wipes.
During wiping of a surface or an instrument, the wipes release a certain amount of liquid to the surfaces, and some of the liquid is re-adsorbed into the wipes. This ability is further enhanced in structured wipes. During this wiping of dirty surfaces, e.g. surfaces contaminated with dirt, cells, e.g. vegetative bacteria, virus, blood cells, tissue cells from humans or animals, the increased surface area of the structured wipes may cause that some dirt, cells etc. are also absorbed into the wipes with the re-adsorbed liquid and subjected to the action of the disinfecting agent and thus killed (in case of vegetative cells).
The disinfectant composition is an aqueous composition, i.e. a composition based on water, and comprises a nonionic biocide and a water based suspension agent, in which the biocide is dissolved.
As mentioned above, the non-ionic biocide(s), the surfactant(s), the solvent(s) and the complexing agent(s) are all dissolved or suspended in a water base thus forming a disinfectant composition.
If necessary, pH of the disinfectant composition is adjusted to 9.0 -10.5 prior to impregnation onto the nonwoven cloths using one or more monoprotic acids, such as organic acids, in particular weak organic acids with e.g. lactic acid, acetic acid, formic acid and /or propanoic acid. If necessary alkali, e.g. NaOH, KOH may also be added. After impregnation of the nonwoven cloth this results in a disinfectant composition having a pH value of about 8.0 - 9.5 when the disinfectant composition is twisted out of the wipe; the exact pH value depends on the amount of cellulose, viscose and/or rayon in the nonwoven cloth forming the wipes. Monoprotic organic acids, such as lactic acid, acetic acid, formic acid and /or propanoic acid are preferred because they are stable at the above mentioned pH range of about 8-10.5, which is necessary for producing the wipes containing viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers and because they do not form macromolecular interactions with the other chelating ingredients in the disinfectant composition.
The non-ionic disinfecting agent is N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine (CAS: 2372-82-9). The disinfecting agent is present in the disinfectant composition in an amount so that the sum of suspended/dissolved solids does not exceed 6,000 ppm. As an example, if the sum of the other ingredients in the disinfectant composition is 2,100 ppm, the concentration of the non-ionic disinfecting agent is less than 3,900 ppm N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine is the preferred non-ionic disinfecting agent, because it does not form bonds with the polar groups or acidic groups in the cellulose, viscose, and/or rayon fibers, and thus does not adhere to the nonwoven cloth and is easily released from the wipes together with the disinfectant composition. In addition N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine is preferred, because it maintains its biocidal effect in applications which include very dirty or blood contaminated surfaces, and because N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine contributes to decreasing the surface tension on the treated surface. In addition, it is stable at the above mentioned pH range of about 8-10.5, which is necessary for producing the wipes containing more than 30% by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose. N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine is marketed in Europe by by Lonza Cologne GmbH, under the brand name Lonzabac 12 or by AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry AB under the brand name triameen Y12D.
The disinfecting composition comprises 100-1,000 ppm, preferably 250-1,000 ppm and in particular 400-600 ppm of one or more surfactants. The one or more surfactant(s) is e.g. an amine oxide, preferably a tertiary amine oxide, in particular lauryl dimethylamine oxide or lauramine oxide (CAS:643-20-5), cocamidopropylamine oxide (CAS: 68-155-09-9) and/or decyl dimethylamine oxide (CAS: 2605-79-0), an alkyl glucoside such as a C8 alkylglukoside (CAS: 7732-18-5), an alcohol ethoxylate, such as C9-C11 ethoxylated alcohols (CAS: 68439-46-3), 2-ethylhexanol ethoxylate (CAS: 26468-86-0), C12-C14 ethoxylated /propoxylated alcohols (CAS: 68439-51-0 ) and/or combinations thereof. These surfactants show particular good wetting and are able to provide a wet surface in combination with the nonionic disinfecting agents mentioned above when impregnated on wipes and even at low concentrations.
Lauryl dimethylamine oxide is the preferred surfactant, because the combination of this surfactant and the disinfectant N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine has an acceptable level of foaming for a disinfection composition in wipes, and in particular the level of foaming is acceptable for cleaning of instruments with cavities that is incompatible with foam and because it is anionic and does not form macromolecular complexes at the above mentioned pH range of about 8-10.5.
In addition, the combination of lauryl dimethylamine oxide and the disinfectant N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine appears to have a synergistic effect in that the overall wetting of the surface is significantly improved, in particular on surfaces which are normally considered difficult in relation to obtaining a fully wet, e.g. on surfaces similar to the test surface used in the examples made of PUR coated PVS flooring material, and because this particular combination is able to provide fully wetted surfaces even at low wetting ratios of the wipes of around 150% content of liquid in the wipes, where the user would otherwise consider that the wipes feel dry. Thus, the wipes according to the present invention will be economical in use and will be useable to provide a wetted surface even at low contents of disinfecting composition in the impregnated wipes.
The disinfectant composition further comprises 100-1,500 ppm, preferably 250-1,000 ppm and in particular 400-600 ppm of a solvent in order to be able to dissolve (suspend) the bacterial film. The solvent is a water soluble glycol ether, which is preferably selected from the group consisting of ethyl diglycol (CAS: 111-90-0), butyl diglycol (CAS: 112-34-5), ethylglycol (CAS: 110-80-5), methyl diglycol (CAS: 111-77-3), butyl glycol (CAS:111-76-2) and/or combinations thereof. Water soluble glycol ethers are preferred over alcohols and other volatile solvents, because they do not increase the rate of evaporation of the aqueous disinfectant composition from the surface, as is the case when aliphatic alcohols, e.g. as ethanol, propanol, isopropanol or butanol is used as solvent/wetting agent. This results in that the surface is wet for a longer period, which is believed to have a positive effect on the disinfection of the surfaces treated with the wipes according to the invention.
Ethyl diglycol is the preferred, because it facilitates spreading of the composition on the surface. In addition, ethyl diglycol has a higher boiling point than ethyl glycol and methyl diglycol and thus results in an even lower rate of evaporation of the aqueous disinfectant composition.
The disinfectant composition further comprises 100-1,000 ppm, preferably 250-900 ppm, in particular 400-600 ppm, of a complexing agent which is selected form EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid ; CAS 60-00-4), GLDA (L-glutamic acid N,N-diacetic acid, tetra sodium salt; CAS: 51981-21-6), MGDA (Methyl glycine diacetic acid; CAS: 164462-16-2), N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)- alanine, trisodium salt (CAS: 5064-31-3) and/or combinations thereof. These complexing agents are stable at the above mentioned pH range of about 8-10.5, as long as they are not mixed with amphoteric surfactants.
The weight ratio of nonwoven cloth: aqueous disinfection composition of the wipes according to the present invention is between 1:1.3 and 1: 5 (corresponding to 130-500% by weight aqueous disinfectant composition in relation to the weight of the nonwoven cloth), because this results in damp wipes, which can deliver the required amount of disinfectant composition for obtaining the efficient surface wetting required for disinfection, i.e. a kill rate reduction of at least 10⁴, or log 4, when wiping the wipes across the surface or instrument without applying any significant extra pressure compared to the pressure in relation to the pressure which is naturally applied by a person during wiping of the surface or instruments. The cloth is preferably impregnated the aqueous disinfecting composition in a weight ratio of with 1:2 to 1: 4.0 (or 200-400 % by weight), or more preferred 1:2.2 to 1:3.5 (or 220-350% by weight).
It is not possible to give a clear definition of when the wipes are wet and when the wipes are damp moist, because the amount of liquid, which can be adsorbed into the nonwoven cloth depends on the composition of the nonwoven material. In this application a wet wipe is defined as a wipe, from which the liquid is dripping without wringing the wipe. A wipe is damp, when a person considers that the wipe feels wet when holding it, but the wipe is able to retain all liquids and does not drip.
A method for disinfecting surfaces and/or instruments comprises wiping the surface thereof with a disinfection article as described above and obtaining a continuous liquid film on the surface or instrument. After applying the film the treated surface is left to dry by air drying. Tools or instruments may then be subjected to subsequent thorough sterilisation or dishwashing either immediately after disinfection or later.
Prior to the disinfecting step, the surface and/or instruments are preferably initially cleaned by wiping the surface thereof with a disinfection and/or cleaning article according to the present invention. This can be done easily as the wipes are folded. The outer surface of the cloth is used for cleaning and subsequently the wipe is refolded so that the other side of the cloth, which continues to be clean and now faces outwards, is used for disinfection.
For disinfection of large surface areas: use a cloth for cleaning and a new clean cloth for disinfection. In both cases is the drying time of the cleaning liquid/product saved. While the required division of cleaning and disinfection in a two-step process is maintained.
As already indicated above, the present invention also relates to the use of a disinfection and cleaning article according to the present invention for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and/or instruments used in hospitals and/or medical care or when nursing patients.
As already indicated above, the present invention also relates to the use of a disinfection and cleaning article according to the present invention for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces tools, and/or instruments used in food industry.

Description of the Drawing

The present inventions will be illustrated in the examples while referring to the figures in which

Fig. 1 shows the way the wipes according to the present invention are folded
Fig. 2a-d shows a plot of the amount of liquid applied on a test surface in relation to the ratio of liquid impregnated on the nonwoven cloths
Fig. 3 shows the wiping method of the PU coated PVC flooring test plate
Fig. 4 is a table of intermediate test results of example 5
Fig. 5a-5h is a table of intermediate test results of example 8 under clean conditions at 20°C
Fig. 6a-6h is a table of intermediate test results of example 8 under dirty conditions at 20°C
Fig 7a-7d is a table of intermediate test results of example 9 under high soil conditions at 10°C.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention will be illustrated in details in the examples below.
Examples 1, 2 may represent prior art used for comparison and/or control e.g. in examples 4.1, 4.2 and 5-7.
All reagents used in the examples are of analytical grade and/or appropriate for microbiologial purpose. Water is sterilized.

Example 1

Tap water from the municipal water supply of Vallensbaek (Denmark) is impregnated on nonwoven-structured cloths, 70 g/m², made of a fiber composition of 70% by weight viscose and 30% by weight PET with 70% manufactured by Norafin Industries (Germany) GmbH in amounts according to table 4.
The weight of the nonwoven cloth before and after impregnation was recorded and the % of impregnation liquid is calculated, see table 4 of example 4.

Example 2

A standard surfactant composition of 0.15 % or 1.5 g/liter sodium monoalkyl benzene sulfonate (SMBS) (CAS: 85117-50-6) manufactured by Huntsman Surface Sciences UK Limited in tap water is prepared . The standard surfactant composition is impregnated on nonwoven-structured cloths, 70 g/m², made of a fiber composition of 70% by weight viscose and 30% by weight PET with 70% manufactured by Norafin Industries (Germany) GmbH in amounts according to table 1.
The weight of the nonwoven cloth before and after impregnation was recorded, and the % of impregnation liquid is calculated, see table 5 of example 4.

Example 3

A suspension agent is prepared by mixing Alanine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt (Trilon M liquid; CAS:5064-31-3), lactic acid (CAS: 50-21-5), ethyl diglycol (EDG 99%; CAS: 111-90-0) and Lauryldimethylamine oxide (ammonyx LO; CAS: 68955-55-5) and Lonzabac® 12.30 from Lonza GmbH is added in the amounts shown below in a bottle and adding water to a total of 1000 g. This solution is stirred/shaken until a homogenous mixture is obtained.

Table 3: Composition of batch jha-66

Raw material	Chemical name	Cas no.	Raw	Recipe	Mix	Content
VAND
			100 %	989 g
TRILON M LIQUID	Alanine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt	5064-31-3	40%	1,2 g	480 ppm	0,48 g
MÆLKESYRE	Lactic Acid	50-21-5	70%	0,75 g	520 ppm	0,52 g
EDG 99 %	Ethyl diglykol	111-90-0	99%	0,75 g	740 ppm	0,74 g
AMMONYX LO	Lauryldimethylamine oxide	68955-55-5	30%	1,75 g	530 ppm	0,53 g
Lonzabac 12.30	N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine	2372-82-9	30%	8,5 g	2555 ppm	2,55 g
Grotan BA21	N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine	2372-82-9	5,5 %	1,5 g	80 ppp	0,08 g
	1,2-benzisothiazool-3(2H)-on	2634-33-5	9,5 %	1,5 g	140 ppm	0,14 g
Total solid matter					5045 ppm

The resulting composition (called JHA-66 in the following) is impregnated on nonwoven-structured cloths, 70 g/m², made of a fiber composition of 70% by weight viscose and 30% by weight PET with 70% provided by manufactured by Norafin Industries (Germany) GmbH in amounts according to table 3.
The weight of the nonwoven cloth before and after impregnation was recorded and the % of impregnation liquid is calculated, see table 5 in example 4.

Example 4

The wipes prepared according to examples 1-3 were each folded as shown in fig. 1, either prior to or after impregnation, and a 0.25 m² test plate of PVC coated with PUR and having an uneven surface (corresponding to the test plate used in prEN 16615, a standard which is yet to be finally approved) (supplied by Verbund für Angewandte Hygiene e.V.) was wiped from one side to the other in parallel tracks, thus covering the entire surface, see fig. 3, and the wipe was weighed immediately after wiping. The amount of liquid applied to the surface is inspected and evaluated visually whether the surface is covered with a continuous film over the entire surface or whether droplets and/or stripes of liquid are formed on the surface. In addition, amount of liquid applied to the surface is calculated from the weight of the wipe before and after wiping, and the amount of liquid per m² is calculated and plotted in a graphic view shown in fig. 3A-D, where the X-axis shows the weight % of liquid in relation to the nonwoven cloth and the Y-axis shows the amount of liquid applied to the surface in g/m².

Table 4

Example 4.1 water impregnated wipes
Cloth (gram)	Cloth + water (gram)	Cloth after wiping (gram)	Impregnation (gram)	Liquid released (gram)	Impregnation ratio (%)	Liquid release (gram/m2)	Visual apperance of surface
8,4	37,75	37,23	29,35	0,52	349,4047619	2,08	Droplets
8,4	35,76	35,25	27,36	0,51	325,7142857	2,04	Droplets
8,4	35,76	35,25	27,36	0,51	325,7142857	2,04	Droplets
8,4	33,8	33,33	25,4	0,47	302,3809524	1,88	Droplets
8,4	32,13	31,74	23,73	0,39	282,5	1,56	Droplets
8,4	31,7	31,27	23,3	0,43	277,3809524	1,72	Droplets
8,4	31,26	30,85	22,86	0,41	272,1428571	1,64	Droplets
8,4	30,12	29,75	21,72	0,37	258,5714286	1,48	Droplets
8,4	29,64	29,25	21,24	0,39	252,8571429	1,56	Droplets
8,4	27,14	26,79	18,74	0,35	223,0952381	1,4	Droplets
8,4	26,75	26,44	18,35	0,31	218,452381	1,24	Droplets
8,4	26,42	26,08	18,02	0,34	214,5238095	1,36	Droplets
8,4	26,05	25,69	17,65	0,36	210,1190476	1,44	Droplets
8,4	23,44	23,15	15,04	0,29	179,047619	1,16	Droplets
8,4	23,13	22,84	14,73	0,29	175,3571429	1,16	Droplets
8,4	22,02	21,75	13,62	0,27	162,1428571	1,08	Droplets
8,4	21,72	21,42	13,32	0,3	158,5714286	1,2	Droplets
8,4	21,37	21,1	12,97	0,27	154,4047619	1,08	Droplets
8,4	21,08	20,83	12,68	0,25	150,952381	1	Droplets
8,4	19,11	18,88	10,71	0,23	127,5	0,92	Droplets
8,4	18,86	18,63	10,46	0,23	124,5238095	0,92	Droplets
8,4	18,6	18,35	10,2	0,25	121,4285714	1	Droplets
8,4	18,33	18,09	9,93	0,24	118,2142857	0,96	Droplets
8,4	17,97	17,74	9,57	0,23	113,9285714	0,92	Droplets

Table 5

Example 4.2 SMBS impregnated wipes
Cloth (gram)	Cloth + SMBS (gram)	Cloth after wiping (gram)	Impregnation (gram)	Liquid released (gram)	Impregnation ratio (%)	Liquid release (gram/m2)	Visual apperance of surface
8,84	40,65	39,68	31,81	0,97	359,841629	3,88	Wet
8,84	36,77	36,08	27,93	0,69	315,9502262	2,76	Wet
8,84	32,29	31,61	23,45	0,68	265,2714932	2,72	Wet
8,6	34,4	33,63	25,8	0,77	300	3,08	Wet
8,6	33,57	32,66	24,97	0,91	290,3488372	3,64	Wet
8,6	32,61	31,76	24,01	0,85	279,1860465	3,4	Wet
8,6	31,73	31,13	23,13	0,6	268,9534884	2,4	Wet
8,67	39,5	38,57	30,83	0,93	355,5940023	3,72	Wet
8,67	38,37	37,61	29,7	0,76	342,5605536	3,04	Wet
8,67	37,54	36,78	28,87	0,76	332,9873126	3,04	Wet
8,67	36,7	35,97	28,03	0,73	323,2987313	2,92	Wet
8,67	35,91	35,18	27,24	0,73	314,1868512	2,92	Wet
8,67	35,13	34,39	26,46	0,74	305,1903114	2,96	Wet
8,67	34,36	33,64	25,69	0,72	296,3091119	2,88	Wet
8,67	33,59	32,89	24,92	0,7	287,4279123	2,8	Wet
8,67	32,86	32,15	24,19	0,71	279,0080738	2,84	Wet
8,67	32,08	31,42	23,41	0,66	270,011534	2,64	Wet
8,67	31,38	30,74	22,71	0,64	261,9377163	2,56	Wet
8,67	30,71	30,12	22,04	0,59	254,2099193	2,36	Wet
8,84	31,58	31,07	22,74	0,51	257,239819	2,04	Streaks
8,84	31,03	30,44	22,19	0,59	251,0180995	2,36	Streaks
8,84	30,38	29,9	21,54	0,48	243,6651584	1,92	Streaks
8,84	29,85	29,38	21,01	0,47	237,6696833	1,88	Streaks
8,84	29,32	28,82	20,48	0,5	231,6742081	2	Streaks
8,84	28,78	28,3	19,94	0,48	225,5656109	1,92	Streaks
8,84	25,02	24,6	16,18	0,42	183,0316742	1,68	Streaks
8,84	24,56	24,19	15,72	0,37	177,8280543	1,48	Streaks
8,84	24,15	23,78	15,31	0,37	173,1900452	1,48	Streaks
8,84	23,75	23,36	14,91	0,39	168,6651584	1,56	Streaks
8,84	20,86	20,57	12,02	0,29	135,9728507	1,16	Streaks
8,84	20,52	20,19	11,68	0,33	132,1266968	1,32	Streaks
8,84	20,16	19,89	11,32	0,27	128,0542986	1,08	Streaks
8,84	19,82	19,52	10,98	0,3	124,2081448	1,2	Streaks
8,84	17,7	17,54	8,86	0,16	100,2262443	0,64	Streaks
8,84	17,5	17,26	8,66	0,24	97,9638009	0,96	Streaks
8,84	17,2	16,98	8,36	0,22	94,57013575	0,88	Streaks
8,84	16,9	16,68	8,06	0,22	91,17647059	0,88	Streaks
8,6	26,63	26,29	18,03	0,34	209,6511628	1,36	Streaks
8,6	26,24	25,82	17,64	0,42	205,1162791	1,68	Streaks
8,6	25,2	24,83	16,6	0,37	193,0232558	1,48	Streaks
8,6	24,79	24,45	16,19	0,34	188,255814	1,36	Streaks
8,6	24,41	23,94	15,81	0,47	183,8372093	1,88	Streaks

Table 6

Example 4.3 Wipes with Disinfectant composition with N,N, bis (aminopropyl) lauryl amine
Cloth (gram)	Cloth + batch jha-66 (gram)	Cloth after wiping (gram)	Impregnation Liquid (gram) released (gram)		Impregnation ratio (%)	Liquid release (gram/m2)	Visual apperance of surface
8,4	26,8	26,2	18,4	0,6	219,0	2,4	Wet
8,4	23,3	22,7	14,9	0,6	177,4	2,4	Wet
8,4	21	20,5	12,6	0,5	150,0	2	Wet
8,6	26,1	25,3	17,5	0,8	203,5	3,2	Wet
8,6	21,07	20,57	12,47	0,5	145,0	2	Wet
8,6	18,1	17,63	9,5	0,47	110,5	1,88	Wet
8,6	25	24,34	16,4	0,66	190,7	2,64	Wet
8,6	20,69	20,1	12,09	0,59	140,6	2,36	Wet
8,6	17,8	17,44	9,2	0,36	107,0	1,44	Streaks
8,4	17,9	17,48	9,5	0,42	113,1	1,68	Streaks
8,4	17,7	17,45	9,3	0,25	110,7	1	Streaks
8,6	16,49	16,15	7,89	0,34	91,7	1,36	Streaks
8,4	25,98	25,36	17,58	0,62	209,3	2,48	Wet
8,4	25,3	24,59	16,9	0,71	201,2	2,84	Wet
8,4	24,52	23,93	16,12	0,59	191,9	2,36	Wet
8,4	23,9	23,33	15,5	0,57	184,5	2,28	Wet
8,4	21,28	20,87	12,88	0,41	153,3	1,64	Wet
8,4	20,82	20,42	12,42	0,4	147,9	1,6	Wet
8,4	20,34	19,96	11,94	0,38	142,1	1,52	Wet
8,4	18,6	18,19	10,2	0,41	121,4	1,64	Wet
8,4	18,13	17,72	9,73	0,41	115,8	1,64	Wet
8,4	17,66	17,29	9,26	0,37	110,2	1,48	Streaks
8,4	17,22	16,84	8,82	0,38	105,0	1,52	Streaks
8,37	35,01	34,06	26,64	0,95	318,3	3,8	Wet
8,37	33,96	33,09	25,59	0,87	305,7	3,48	Wet
8,37	33,02	32,19	24,65	0,83	294,5	3,32	Wet
8,37	28,36	27,89	19,99	0,47	238,8	1,88	Wet
8,37	27,84	27,2	19,47	0,64	232,6	2,56	Wet
8,37	27,15	26,57	18,78	0,58	224,4	2,32	Wet
8,37	26,51	25,91	18,14	0,6	216,7	2,4	Wet
8,37	22,96	22,59	14,59	0,37	174,3	1,48	Wet
8,37	22,52	22,06	14,15	0,46	169,1	1,84	Wet
8,37	22	21,57	13,63	0,43	162,8	1,72	Wet
8,37	21,51	21,09	13,14	0,42	157,0	1,68	Wet
8,37	21,03	20,62	12,66	0,41	151,3	1,64	Wet
8,37	20,58	20,22	12,21	0,36	145,9	1,44	Wet
8,27	32,85	31,87	24,58	0,98	297,2	3,92	Wet
8,27	31,8	30,92	23,53	0,88	284,5	3,52	Wet
8,27	30,88	30,08	22,61	0,8	273,4	3,2	Wet
8,27	30,02	29,31	21,75	0,71	263,0	2,84	Wet
8,27	26,91	26,37	18,64	0,54	225,4	2,16	Wet
8,27	26,33	25,72	18,06	0,61	218,4	2,44	Wet
8,27	25,67	25,07	17,4	0,6	210,4	2,4	Wet
8,27	25,03	24,46	16,76	0,57	202,7	2,28	Wet
8,27	24,41	24	16,14	0,41	195,2	1,64	Wet
8,27	21,74	21,33	13,47	0,41	162,9	1,64	Wet
8,27	21,27	20,84	13	0,43	157,2	1,72	Wet
8,27	20,78	20,47	12,51	0,31	151,3	1,24	Wet
8,27	20,41	20,04	12,14	0,37	146,8	1,48	Wet
8,17	31,45	30,75	23,28	0,7	284,9	2,8	Wet
8,17	30,7	30,14	22,53	0,56	275,8	2,24	Wet
8,17	30,1	29,44	21,93	0,66	268,4	2,64	Wet
8,17	29,31	28,79	21,14	0,52	258,8	2,08	Wet
8,17	28,74	28,24	20,57	0,5	251,8	2	Wet
8,17	28,21	27,76	20,04	0,45	245,3	1,8	Wet
8,17	30,11	29,6	21,94	0,51	268,5	2,04	Wet
8,17	29,55	28,91	21,38	0,64	261,7	2,56	Wet
8,17	28,74	28,21	20,57	0,53	251,8	2,12	Wet
8,17	28,2	27,56	20,03	0,64	245,2	2,56	Wet
8,17	27,51	26,95	19,34	0,56	236,7	2,24	Wet

The resulting wipes of example 3 showed a superb wetting of the PUR coated PVC flooring. Streaks of liquid only occurred below an impregnation ratio of 110% (See Table 6). The disinfection liquid of the wipes of example 3 flowed easily out of wipes and there was a marked variation in the liquid released to the PUR coated PVC flooring (Fig. 2C-D).
Water and an aqueous solution of SMBS were included as reference liquids in the test.
Surprisingly, a high concentration of 3,5 g/litre SMBS was needed in example 2 to obtain a fully wetted surface. This concentration of SMBS was assayed to an impregnation ratio of at least 100% by weight liquid to weight of nonwoven material(See Table 5) and the liquid release plotted against the impregnation ratio (Fig. 2D). The curve showed a break point at 260% impregnation. Below the break point, the release of liquid significantly reduced and resulted in a marked increase in friction between surface and wipes. A poor wetting of the PUR coated PVC flooring with streaks and dry spots followed.
Above the break point the liquid release of SMBS followed that of batch jha-66. Finally, the liquid release of batch jha-66, SMBS and water was plotted against each other (Fig. 2A). The liquid release of a cloth wetted in water (See Table 4) plotted in Fig. 2B.
The test shows that although a low surface tension of a disinfection liquid is a necessity, a low surface tension is not enough for obtaining a wet surface by wiping the PUR coated PVC flooring.

Example 5

An aqueous composition of PHMB having the following composition was prepared.

Table 8: composition of batch jha-119

	Chemical name	Cas no.	Concentration in pre-mix	40 x dilution
	Citric acid		6.6 %	1650 ppm	0.17 %
Triethanolamine 99/90	2-[bis[2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethanol	102-71-6	3.0 %	750 ppm	0, 08 %
Ethyldiglycol	2-(2-ethoxy)ethanol	111-90-0	2.5 %	625 ppm	0,06 %
Dissolvine GL
38	Tetrasodium N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-L-glutaminate	51981-21-6	6.3 %	1575 ppm	0,16 %
BTC
50	Alkyldimethylbenzyl ammoniumchloride	68424-85-1	10.3 %	2575 ppm	0, 26 %
Ammonyx LO	Lauramine Oxide	68955-55-5	0.74 %	185 ppm	0,02 %
Berol OX 91/6	Alcohol ethoxylate C9-11 + 6EO	68439-46-3	0.36 %	90 ppm	0, 01 %
Vantocil TG	Polyhexamethylenebiguanide	27083-27-8	7.20 %	1800 ppm	0,18 %
	Water
				99,1 %
	Total			9250 ppm

A nonwoven cloth (cloth 1) containing 70% viscose and 30% by weight of polyester (PET) having a structured surface as described above (of unknown origin) was impregnated with 360 % by weight of jha-119 in relation to the weight of the cloth and a second type of nonwoven cloth (cloth 2) containing 10% by weight of viscose and 90% polyester (of unknown origin) was impregnated with 325% by weight of jha-119 in relation to the weight of the cloth.
The two impregnated cloths were tested for bactericidal effect on Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ATCC 15442 at 3 different contact time intervals as indicated in table below.
The test was conducted at room temperature (20-22 °C).
A bacteria suspension of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ATCC 15442, adjusted to the number of cells in the suspension to 1.5 x 108 cfu/ml to 5 x 108 cfu/ml where 0.05 ml of the diluent (diluent is tryptone solution; 1.0 g tryptone (pancreatic diges of casein)+ 8.5 g NaCl in 1.0 l of water) inoculated on cleaned and sterilised circular stainless steel plates with a diameter of 2 cm and dried at 37 °C for 4-5 minutes until the surface looked dry.
A solution of 0.3 g/l of bovine serum albumin was in the bacterial suspension used as interfering substance, which corresponds to clean conditions.
See tables in fig 4 for intermediate results.
Each of the impregnated cloths was wiped to extract the liquid phase, which was applied in an amount of 0.1 ml to a steel plate each and left for the 2 minutes.
Reference sample steel plates were treated with sterilised tap water in corresponding amounts and time periods.
Then the steel plates were treated with 10 ml of a neutralising agent comprising 10g/l soduim sulphate, 30 g/l polysorbate 80, 3g/l lecithin and 30g/l saponin in a 4-5 cm diameter container containing 5 g of glass beads. The steel plates were placed upside down on top of the beads to ensure that the beads have the maximum opportunity to aid cell removal. The plates were placed in a horizontal shaker for 1 min at 150 min^-1
After a neutralisation time of 5 min ± 10 s, a series of two-fold dilutions from 10-1 to 10-2 for the bacterial strains is prepared from the neutralised mixture and the diluent. Take a sample of 1.0 ml of the neutralised mixture and each of the dilutions in duplicate and inoculate the pour plates. For the water control, after a neutralisation time of 5 min ± 10 s, for the bacterial containing samples dilutions were prepared (10^-3, 10^-4, 10^-5 and 10^-6 dilutions) of the neutralised mixture in the tryptone diluent by taking a sample of 1,0 ml of each of the dilutions from the inoculated the pour plates.
1.0 ml sample of the neutralised mixture, and of each dilution, was transferred into separate Petri dishes and add 15 ml to 20 ml melted Trypotne Soy Agar, pH=7.2 (TSA: 15 g Tryptone, pancreatic digest of casein; 5.0g Soya peptone, papaic digest of Soybean meal; NaCl 5,0 g; 15.0 g Agar 15,0 g and sterilized water to 1 000,0 ml) cooled to 45 °C ± 1°C.
The stainless steel disc was recovered, the neutralisation medium drained off and was then rinsed with 10 ml of sterilized water and transferred to a Petri dish containing about 10 ml of solidified TSA where it was placed on top of the agar, test side uppermost.
0.1 ml of sterilised water was poured on the stainless steel disc and with a sterile pipette tip or a sterile spatula scraped for any residual desiccated inoculum on the surface of the disc for 1 min. About 10 ml of the same melted counting medium cooled to 45 °C ± 1 °C was poured over the stainless steel test surface.
The test was repeated for the contact times of 5 and 10 minutes,
The log reduction of viable bacteria on the test plates were calculated as described in item 5.6+ annex C in EN 13697:2001, see also tables in fig 4.

The overall results are shown in table 9.

Table 9

Microorganism	Contact time	Log reduction Cloth 1 (70+30)¹	Log reduction Cloth 2 (10+90)²
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	2 min	1,55	1,30
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	5 min	2,77	3,54
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	10 min	3,11	4,05
¹A fibre composition of 70 % viscose and 30 % PET
²A fibre composition of 10 % viscose and 90 % PET

The test shows that some wipes having certain compositions of fibres (See cloth 1) do not release PHMB in sufficient amounts necessary for obtaining efficient disinfection of surfaces when evaluating bactericidal activity on surfaces according to the well-known standard EN13697:2001 E .

Example 6

A disinfectant composition similar to batch jha-119, and batch jha-183 was prepared, with the exception that the concentration of PHMB was raised to 3,000 ppm (batch called jha-185) and was thus slightly higher than in example 5. The log reduction of the disinfectant composition was tested in a similar way as in example 5, except that the time periods were 5, 10, and 15 minutes.

The log reduction was determined and calculated as in example 5 and the results are shown in table 10.

Table 10

Microorganism	Contact time	Log reduction Jha-183¹	Log reduction jha-185²
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	5 min	2,60	3.12
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	10 min	>6,8	nd
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
	15 min	>6,8	nd
^1:PHMB concentration 0.18%
²:PHMB concentration 0.30%

Although batch jha-183 showed an eminent log reduction by incubation for 10 minutes, the log reduction is 2.60 at an incubation time of 5 minutes. When the PHMB concentration was raised to 0.3 % by weight, the log reduction at incubation time of 5 minutes was raised to 3.12, which is still below 4.
The results clearly indicate that the polymeric active substance PHMB exhibits a poor ability to penetrate a bacterial film smeared on the test disc used. In addition, the test results indicate the existence of the above mentioned lag effect.

Example 7

The mechanical non-biocidal action, which occurs when the disinfectant composition is applied by wipes impregnated with the disinfectant composition across the surface, was examined by impregnating a cloth similar to cloth 1 used in examples 1-6 with a surfactant solution containing 0.15 % (or 1.5 g/liter) of sodium monoalkyl benzene sulfonate (SMBS) (CAS no.: 85117-50-6). In addition, as a comparative example, a plain non structured nonwoven cloth of PET (55% cellulose: 45% PET), 70g/m2 was impregnated with the composition.
The impregnation ratio of cloths to surfactant solution was 650%, which is just below the absorption capacity of the cloths.

Microorganisms

Staphylococcus aureus CCUG 10780 (ATCC 6540)

Media and buffers:

General diluent: Tryptone 1.0 g/l, Sodium Chlorine 8.5 g/l in sterile water
Dirty solution: Bovine Albumin 3 g/l and sheep erythrocytes 3 ml/l in general diluent Trypton Soya Agar (TSA) plates

Other consumables

Flooring with 4-fields: PVC with PUR surface coating
Granite block

Referenced documents

Draft standard FprEN16615 version 2014-04-07.

Preparation of the working culture for the bacteria suspensions

Streak plates were prepared and incubated for 24h at 35 ±2°C. Isolated colonies from the streak plates were subcultured for 24h at 35 ±2°C and then colonies from the subculture were used to freshly prepare the bacterial working solution which was maintained at 20 ±1°C in water bath until use.

Preparation of bacterial inoculum

The bacterial inoculum was suspended in general diluent and prepared from a subculture to obtain OD620nm 0.15 -0.46 equalling 1.5 -5 x 10⁹ CFU/ml. To confirm the inoculum size, the inoculum was serial diluted and 10⁷ and 10⁸ dilutions were spread onto TSA plates which were incubated for 24h - 48h at 35 ±2°C.
The interfering substances of bovine albumin and sheep erythrocytes were added into the bacterial suspension that was maintained at 20 ±1°C in a water bath.50 µl of the bacterial suspension was then spread onto the test field 1 and on the field for Dry Control.

Preparation of flooring

The PVC flooring was cut in one big and one small piece. On the big flooring four different test fields: 1, 2, 3, and 4 were drawn and on the small flooring two test fields for the Dry Control Dc0 and Dct were drawn.
The surface was cleaned with 70% iso-propanol and allowed to dry for 2 hours.
The wipes were sterilized in the autoclave and then wipes marked cloth 1 were soaked in water.

1: Directly after apparent dryness of the inoculated surface, the Dry control Dc0 was sampled with swabs, neutralized and plated onto TSA plates in duplicate and incubated for 24h - 48h at 35 ±2°C.
2: The Dry control Dct was sampled after the contact time t=5 min.
3: For the wiping with the test wipes, the wipe was folded in two, covered onto the granite block and gripped with the fingers.
4: The assembly was then put in front of the first test field of the big flooring and the surface wiped back and forth over the 4 test fields.
5: The surface was then dried during the contact time t=5min and sampled as described in step 1.
6: Steps 4 and 5 were done also for the water control.

It was found that the non-impregnated wipe cloth 1 and the Pulp:PET wipe reduced the bacterial load on test field 1 with log 3.9 and log 3.1, respectively.
The impregnated cloth 1 showed 3.9 log reduction of bacteria in a bacterial film on a PU coated PVC flooring as recommended in prEN16615 as compared to the standard wipe included in prEN16615 that resulted in a 3.1 log reduction (See Table 11). Table 11

Wipe material Log reduction

Cloth 1(70-30) 3.9

PET wipe (0-100) 3.1
The non-impregnated wipe from cloth 1 also removed bacteria more efficiently than the pulp:Polyethylenterephthalat (PET) wipe recommended by the standard, FprEN 16615.
As the two wipes release approximately same amount of bacteria to test field 2, 3, 4 (cloth 1 released an average of 2.7 log CFU/ml; the PET wipe 2.8) we can assume that bacteria are released from the surface of wipes. It is also assumed that bacteria which are adsorbed into the fiber matrix of the wipe of cloth 1 are not released to test field 2, 3, 4. This could explain why only a fraction of the bacteria adsorbed by cloth1 wipe is released on to surfaces 2-4.
Sodium monoalkyl benzene sulfonate is a linear alkyl sulphonate with a critical micelle concentration of 0.65 g/liter and a surface tension of 35 mN/m. In the above mentioned study the wipes gave a homogenous and easy spreading of the surfactant liquid without dry spots, streaks or droplets on the test plate of the PU coated PVC flooring.

Example 8

A disinfectant formulation according to the invention was tested to give a reduction of 6 log in 5 minutes (see Table 14).
Batch jha-37 of similar composition to the composition of example 3 (Jha-66) was used in example 8 under dirty conditions (see table 12).
Batch jha-35 was used under clean conditions (see table 13)
The test was similar to the procedure given in example 5 except from using different bacteria/fungus strains, different test conditions ("clean" or "dirty") as indicated in table 14 below.
The "clean" test conditions were represented by an organic load of an interfering suspension of 0.03 % bovine albumin.

The "dirty" test conditions were represented by an organic load of an interfering suspension of 0.3 % bovine albumin + 0.3 % sheep erythrocytes.

Table 12: Composition of batch "jha-37"

Raw material	Batch no.	Chemical name	Cas no.	Raw	Recipé	Mix	Content
VAND
				100 %	985 g
TRILON M LIQUID		Alanine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt	5064-31-3	40%	1,2 g	480 ppm	0,48 g
MÆLKESYRE		Lactic Acid	50-21-5	70%	0,2 g	140 ppm	0,14 g
EDG 99 %		Ethyl diglykol	111-90-0	99%	0,75 g	744 ppm	0,99 g
AMMONYX LO		Lauryldimethylamine oxide	68955-55-5	30%	1,75 g	525 ppm	0,30 g
Lonzabac 12.30	DEG42290 36			30%	9,0 g	2700 ppm	2,10 g

Total solid matter					997,9 g	4590 ppm		Table

Table 13. Composition of batch "jha-35"

Raw material	Chemical name	Cas no.	Raw	Recipé	Mix	Content
VAND
			100%	989 g
TRILON M LIQUID	Alanine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt	5064-31-3	40%	1,2 g	480 ppm	0,48 g
MÆLKESYRE	Lactic Acid	50-21-5	70%	0,2 g	140 ppm	0,14 g
EDG 99 %	Ethyl diglykol	111-90-0	99%	1,0 g	990 ppm	0,99 g
AMMONYX LO	Lauryldimethylamine oxide	68955-55-5	30%	1,0 g	300 ppm	0,30 g
Lonzabac 12.30	N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine	2372-82-9	30%	7.0 g	2100 ppm	2,10 g
Bardac 22.70	N,N Didecyl.N,N-dimethylammoniumchloride	7173-51-5	70%	0,25 g	175 ppm	0,25 g
Total solid matter					4185 ppm

The neutraliser (TLSH-SDS) used in example 8 comprises 100g/l polysorbate 80; 60g/l saponin; 5g/l lechitin; 1g/l histidine and 5g/l SDS
For the fungus Candida albicans ATCC 10231, a growth medium of malt extract agar (MSA) pH 5.2 (30.0 g technical grade malt extract; 3.0 g soya peptone; 15.0 g agar and 1000.0 ml water) is used.
Intermediate results are shown in tables fig. 5a-5h for clean conditions and fig 6a-h for dirty conditions.

The wipes comprising the disinfection composition according to the invention represented by batch jha-37 do not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art wipes, i.e. reduced release of disinfectant due to bonding of cationic disinfectants to the polar and acidic groups on cellulose, rayon and/or viscose in the nonwoven cloth, containing disinfectants, because there is no interaction between the polar and acidic groups of the nonwoven cloth material of the wipes and the nonionic disinfectants and surfactants present in the disinfectant composition.

Table 14

Microorganism	Test conditions	Incubation time	Pass criteria	Test result
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538	Dirty	1 min	5 log/5 min	> 5,4 log/1 min
Enterococcus hirae ATCC 10541	Dirty	1 min	5 log/5 min	> 5,4 log/1 min
Escherichia coli ATCC 10536	Dirty	1 min	5 log/5 min	> 5,4 log/1 min
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442	Dirty	1 min	5 log/5 min	> 5,4 log/1 min
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538	Clean	5 min	4 log/5 min	> 6,5 log/5 min
Enterococcus hirae ATCC 10541	Clean	5 min	4 log/5 min	> 6,6 log/5 min
Escherichia coli ATCC 10536	Clean	5 min	4 log/5 min	> 5,6 log/5 min
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442	Clean	5 min	4 log/5 min	> 5,8 log/5 min
Candida albicans ATCC 10231	Dirty	1 min	4 log/5 min	> 4,5 log/1 min
Candida albicans ATCC 10231	Clean	15 min	3 log/15 min	> 5,3 log/15 min

Example 9

To further challenge the effectiveness of the disinfectant composition according to the present invention under high load conditions, batch jha-35 (see composition in table 13 above in example 8) of the disinfectant composition was tested in a procedure similar to example 5, but under a high organic load (high soiling) represented by an interfering suspension of 1% yeast extract + 1 % bovine albumin, and at a an incubation temperature of 10°C +/- 1 °C and an incubation time of 30 minutes.
The neutralizer used in example 8 was also used in example 9.
Intermediate results are shown in tables fig. 7a-d of the high organic load conditions.

Batch jha-35 was tested under test conditions with high load conditions (See Table 15) and showed excellent efficacy under high organic load, because a high log reduction was measured for bacteria in the bacterial film in the surface test similar to example 5. This further shows that the lag phase of the composition according to the present invention is insignificant or does not influence the efficacy of the disinfectant composition under the test conditions. Note that a log reduction of 5 under 5 minutes incubation at 25°C is roughly equivalent to a log reduction of 5 under 30 minutes incubation at 10°C.

Table 15

Microorganism	Test conditions	Incubation time	Pass criteria	Test result
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538	High soiling	30 min	4 log/30 min	> 7,9 log/30 min
Enterococcus hirae ATCC 10541	High soiling	30 min	4 log/30 min	> 7,7 log/30 min
Proteus vulgaris ATCC 13315	High soiling	30 min	4 log/30 min	> 7,5 log/30 min
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15542	High soiling	30 min	4 log/30 min	> 7,5 log/30 min

Claims

A disinfection and cleaning article comprising a cloth of a nonwoven textile material containing at least 30% by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers, said nonwoven material being impregnated with an aqueous disinfectant composition, and said aqueous disinfectant composition having a pH of 8.0-9.5 when twisted out of the impregnated cloth,
said aqueous disinfectant composition comprising
a non-ionic disinfecting agent, which is N,N bis (aminopropyl) laurylamine;
100-1,500 ppm of one or more surfactants;
100 ppm to 1,500 ppm of a solvent;
100 ppm to 1,000 ppm of a complexing agent,
which are solubilized or suspended in water, and
where the sum of the components does not exceed 6,000 ppm in the resulting disinfectant aqueous composition.
A disinfection and cleaning article according to claim 1, wherein the nonwoven textile material contains 50-85 % by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers and 15-50 % by weight of polyester fibers, preferably 60-80 % by weight of viscose, rayon and/or cellulose fibers and 20-40 % by weight of polyester fibers,
A disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more surfactants are selected from the group consisting of an amine oxide, preferably a tertiary amine oxide, in particular lauryl dimethylamine oxide, cocamidopropylamine oxide, decyl dimethylamine oxide, an alkyl glucoside such as a C8 alkylglukoside, an alcohol ethoxylate, such as C9-C11 ethoxylated alcohols, 2-ethylhexanol ethoxylate), C12-C14 ethoxylated /propoxylated alcohols, and/or combinations thereof.
A disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the solvent is a water soluble glycol ether, which is preferably selected from the group consisting of ethyl diglycol, butyl diglycol, ethylglycol, methyl diglycol, butyl glycol and/or combinations thereof.
A disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the weight ratio of nonwoven cloth: aqueous disinfection composition is between 1:1.3 and 1:5, preferably 1:2 to 1:4.0 , or more preferred 1:2.2 to 1:3.5.
A disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality, such as 10-100, of the impregnated cloths are folded and packed in a liquid tight packaging unit comprising a re-closable opening for extracting one cloth at the time.
A method for disinfecting surfaces, tools and/or instruments, comprising wiping the surface thereof with a disinfection article according to any of the preceding claims, and obtaining a wetted surface on the surface or instrument.
A method according to claim 7, wherein in a step preceding the disinfecting step, the surface and/or instruments are also initially cleaned by wiping the surface thereof with the disinfection and cleaning article according to any of claims 1-6.
Use of a disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the claims 1-6 for cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and/or instruments, where said surfaces and/or instruments are used when nursing patients, in hospitals and/or medical care.
Use of a disinfection and cleaning article according to any of the claims 1-6 for cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces, tools, and/or instruments used in the food industry.