SGER: Inactivation of Biological Warfare Agents by Physical Disinfectants

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

0210350 Blatchley The objective of the research is to investigate the feasibility and limitations of Bacillus anthracis decontamination processes which utilize the physical disinfectants ultraviolet (UV) and gamma (g) irradiation. The specific tasks of this exploratory research include: (1) the development of a database of the behavior for B. anthracis spores in response to UV and g irradiation, noting the spore inactivation, repair, and mutation, (2) the development of systems to quantify dose delivery in decontamination systems based on physical disinfectants using Bacillus cereus as a surrogate for B. anthracis spores, and (3) examination of spore inactivation in continuous applications to surfaces and aqueous liquids over a range of operating conditions, together with dosimetric data. The use of B. cereus as a surrogate is logical and useful, since B. cereus is virtually indistinguishable from B. anthracis in terms of physiology and responses to disinfectants, but is essentially non-pathogenic to humans. As a check of the validity of the use of B. cereus, a limited number of experiments will be performed with the Sterne strain of B. anthracis (the vaccine strain of the organism) to verify the results of the research.