OBJECTIVETo evaluate the performance of vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) for the bio-decontamination of the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter unit.

METHODSSelf-made or commercially available bioindicators were placed at designated locations in the HEPA filter unit under VHP fumigation. The spores on coupons were then extracted by 0.5 h submergence in eluent followed by 200- time violent knocks.

RESULTSDue to the presence of HEPA filter in the box, spore recovery from coupons placed at the bottom of the filter downstream was significantly higher than that from coupons placed at the other locations. The gap of decontamination efficiency between the top and the bottom of the filter downstream became narrower with the exposure time extended. The decontamination efficiency of the bottom of the filter downstream only improved gently with the injection rate of H2O2 increased and the decontamination efficiency decreased instead when the injection rate exceeded 2.5 g/min. The commercially available bioindicators were competent to indicate the disinfection efficiency of VHP for the HEPA filter unit.

CONCLUSIONThis assay developed can detect all 16 β-lactams demanded by the European Union (EU). The whole procedure takes only 45 min and can detect 42 samples and the standards with duplicate analysis.

Catalases are well studied enzymes that play critical roles in protecting cells against the toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide. The ubiquity of the enzyme and the availability of substrates made heme catalases the focus of many biochemical and molecular biology studies over 100 years. In human, this has been implicated in various physiological and pathological conditions. Advancement in proteomics revealed many of novel and previously unknown features of this mysterious enzyme, but some functional aspects are yet to be explained. Along with discussion on future research area, this mini-review compile the information available on the structure, function and mechanism of action of human catalase.
Catalase ; chemistry ; metabolism ; physiology ; Heme ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; metabolism

The hydrogen peroxide low temperature plasma sterilization technology solved the problems of thermo-sensitive materials' disinfection and sterilization based on its development and unique characteristics. This paper introduced the researches of clinical application quality control, and showed the hydrogen peroxide low temperature plasma sterilizers were being widely used in hospitals and highly recognized. According to the clinical data and the literatures of the domestic equipment in preliminary application, it could be concluded that the technology maturity of domestic hydrogen peroxide low temperature plasma sterilizers was in a high level. The advantages of using domestic hydrogen peroxide low temperature plasma sterilizers to do disinfection and sterilization included lower cost, safer, faster and non-toxic, etc. Also the management system should be improved and the clinical staff should master the technical essentials, obey the procedures strictly, verify periodically and offer full monitoring to upgrade the quality of sterilization.
Cold Temperature ; Disinfection ; instrumentation ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; chemistry ; Plasma Gases ; chemistry

Catalase is widely used in the food, medical, and textile industries. It possesses exceptional properties including high catalytic efficiency, high specificity, and environmental friendliness. Free catalase cannot be recycled and reused in industry, resulting in a costly industrial biotransformation process if catalase is used as a core ingredient. Developing a simple, mild, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach to immobilize catalase is anticipated to improve its utilization efficiency and enzymatic performance. In this study, the catalase KatA derived from Bacillus subtilis 168 was expressed in Escherichia coli. Following separation and purification, the purified enzyme was prepared as an immobilized enzyme in the form of enzyme-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers, and the enzymatic properties were investigated. The results indicated that the purified KatA was obtained through a three-step procedure that included ethanol precipitation, DEAE anion exchange chromatography, and hydrophobic chromatography. Then, by optimizing the process parameters, a novel KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflower was developed. The optimum reaction temperature of the free KatA was determined to be 35 ℃, the optimum reaction temperature of KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers was 30-35 ℃, and the optimum reaction pH of both was 11.0. The free KatA and KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers exhibited excellent stability at pH 4.0-11.0 and 25-50 ℃. The KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers demonstrated increased storage stability than that of the free KatA, maintaining 82% of the original enzymatic activity after 14 d of storage at 4 ℃, whereas the free KatA has only 50% of the original enzymatic activity. In addition, after 5 catalytic reactions, the nanoflower still maintained 55% of its initial enzymatic activity, indicating that it has good operational stability. The K_m of the free KatA to the substrate hydrogen peroxide was (8.80±0.42) mmol/L, and the k_cat/K_m was (13 151.53± 299.19) L/(mmol·s). The K_m of the KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers was (32.75±2.96) mmol/L, and the k_cat/K_m was (4 550.67±107.51) L/(mmol·s). Compared to the free KatA, the affinity of KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers to the substrate hydrogen peroxide was decreased, and the catalytic efficiency was also decreased. In summary, this study developed KatA/Ca₃(PO₄)₂ hybrid nanoflowers using Ca²⁺ as a self-assembly inducer, which enhanced the enzymatic properties and will facilitate the environmentally friendly preparation and widespread application of immobilized catalase.
Catalase ; Nanostructures/chemistry* ; Hydrogen Peroxide/metabolism* ; Enzymes, Immobilized/chemistry* ; Catalysis

Gas vesicles are a unique class of gas-filled protein nanostructures which are commonly found in cyanobacteria and Halobacterium. The gas vesicles may scatter sound waves and generate harmonic signals, which enabled them to have the potential to become a novel ultrasound contrast agent. However, the current hypertonic cracking method for isolating gas vesicles contains tedious operational procedures and is of low yield, thus not suitable for large-scale application. To overcome these technical challenges, we developed a rapid and efficient method for isolating gas vesicles from Microcystis. The new H₂O₂-based method increased the yield by three times and shortened the operation time from 24 hours to 7 hours. The H₂O₂ method is not only suitable for isolation of gas vesicles from laboratory-cultured Microcystis, but also suitable for colonial Microcystis covered with gelatinous sheath. The gas vesicles isolated by H₂O₂ method showed good performance in ultrasound contrast imaging. In conclusion, this new method shows great potential for large-scale application due to its high efficiency and wide adaptability, and provides technical support for developing gas vesicles into a biosynthetic ultrasonic contrast agent.
Contrast Media ; Cyanobacteria ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Microcystis ; Proteins/chemistry*

Synergetic effects for p-nitrophenol degradation were observed in the ozonation with ultrasonic enhancement. The enhancements of removal rate for p-nitrophenol and TOC were around 116% and 294% respectively in comparison with the individual ultrasound and ozonation systems. The synergetic phenomenon is attributed to two physicochemical mechanisms: (1) Ultrasound decomposes ozone causing augmentation of the activity of free radicals; (2) Ultrasonic wave increased the concentration of O(3) in solution because of ultrasonic dispersion.
Hydrogen Peroxide ; chemistry ; Nitrophenols ; chemistry ; Oxygen ; chemistry ; Ozone ; chemistry ; Solutions ; Sonication ; Waste Disposal, Fluid ; Water Pollution

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of a broad range of environmental conditions on initial rates of hydrogen peroxide produced by Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis).

METHODSFor each rate measurement, 1 ml aliquots of 10(12) cells/L mid-logarithmic phase S. oralis in TSBY were centrifuged and respectively washed by phosphate buffer containing 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose or sucrose, phosphate buffer with 5.0-7.5 pH or Bis-Tris buffer containing 0.01-100 mmol/L Ca(2+), 0.01-100 mmol/L F(-) or 0.01-100 mmol/L HFPO(3)(-). After S. oralis was cultured in respective buffer for 10, 20 and 30 min at 37 degrees C, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in supernatant was assayed spectrophotometrically in 96-well micro-plate by ABTS-HRP at A(405).

RESULTSSynthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis was 7.48 micromol/L per minute without carbohydrate, the synthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis increased with 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose and 0.01-10 mmol/L sucrose, but there was no statistically significant difference in synthesis rate among the carbohydrate groups. The rates of H2O2 synthesis were inhibited in the buffer at pH 5.0-6.0, compared with pH 7.0 (P < 0.05). Ca(2+) had little influence on the rate of H2O2 synthesis. IC(50) of H2O2 synthesis rates by S. oralis responded to FHPO(3)(-) and F(-) were 12.65 mmol/L and 1.90 mmol/L respectively.

CONCLUSIONSEnvironmental conditions may influence the synthesis rate of H2O2 by S. oralis.

OBJECTIVEThe purposes of this study were to investigate effects of chloroqquine (CQ) on inhibiting the decomposition of hydrogen peroxides (HP), and to optimize composition of the tooth-bleaching agent.

METHODSAccording to the principle of the color-changing reaction between horse radish peroxidase and substrate, the tooth-bleaching agent made of HP was divided into four groups with different amounts of CQ. The stability of HP was observed using ELISA for 3 months.

RESULTSWith the prolongation of store time, the absorbance of HP solutions containing different concentrations of CQ declined at different degrees, which showed a dependent relation between absorbance values and concentrations of CQ. Within the range of experiment concentrations of CQ, the higher the concentration of CQ was, the stronger the stability of HP was. And the duration of tooth-bleaching effects in 150.0 mg/ml of CQ was prolonged 4 to 6 times compared to that without CQ.

CONCLUSIONThe data indicate that CQ can inhibit the decomposition of HP. The bleaching effect of the tooth-bleaching agent which is made of HP and proper amount of CQ is satisfactory.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of bleaching agents on the color of indirect and direct composite resins.

METHODSFive resin composite materials were tested in this in vitro study. The five composites were as follow: two indirect composite resins (Adoro SR, Ceramage) and three direct composite resins (Filtek Z350, Clearfil Majesty Esthetic, and Gradia Direct Anterior). For each material, twenty disk-shaped specimens were prepared and randomly divided into five groups according to the color parameters of specimens before bleaching treatment. The composite resin specimens were treated by one of five sample solutions which were at-home bleaching agents (10% and 15% carbarmide peroxide), in- office bleaching agents (38% H(2)O(2) and 35%H(2)O(2)) and deionized water (control group). The color parameters of specimens were measured by spectrophotometer at baseline and after bleaching treatments. The color differences (ΔE values) between baseline and post-treatments were calculated. The data of color differences were evaluated statistically using two-way analysis with a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTSThe color changes of the resin composites were less than 2.0 after bleaching agent treatment, therefore were not perceptible. Slight increase of L(*) values and decrease of C(*)ab values in color parameters of specimens were observed. There were statistically significant differences in ΔE values for different bleaching treatments and resin materials (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSThe bleaching agents did not affect the color of indirect and direct composite resins tested.

Objective To investigate the application of the fluorescein diacetate (FDA) microplate assay in cell viability detection. Methods Cells were seeded in a 96-well culture plate until detection. After incubated with FDA,the plate was detected by fluorescence microplate analyzer. The effects of FDA incubation duration,concentration,and other factors on the assay's accuracy and stability were assessed. We also compared the results of FDA with methyl thiazolyl(MTT) in terms of cell numbers and HOinjury. Results Within 0-30 minutes,the fluorescence-cell number coefficient of FDA assay increased with duration and reached 0.99 in 27-30 minutes. The optimum concentration of final FDA in this study was 10-30 μg/ml. On cell viability detection,the result of FDA method was equivalent to MTT method. As to HOinjury assay,the sensitivity of FDA method was superior to MTT on the higher concentration HOtreatment due to a relative shorter duration for detection. Conclusion As a stable and reliable method,FDA is feasible for cell variability detection under varied conditions.
Biological Assay ; Cell Survival ; Fluoresceins ; chemistry ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Staining and Labeling