Development of an effective alcohol-free hand rub

许多社区和卫生保健相关感染可以通过良好的手卫生来预防，即在正确的时间以最合适的方法以正确的方式洗手。事实上，加强手部卫生一直是政府控制Covid-19大流行战略的关键部分。保持良好手部卫生的最佳方法是使用肥皂和热水。然而，这并不总是可能的、实用的或方便的。这导致酒精类洗手液（abhr）的使用激增。abhr不是使用标准成分生产的，也没有标准/声明的强度，尽管至少需要65%的浓度才能有效。此外，这些产品很少在标签上有使用说明，尽管BSEN 1500规定6毫升（每次洗2次，每次3毫升）是必要的剂量。不同的醇有不同的目标生物光谱，并不是所有的醇对所有的病原体都有效。abhr会导致手干燥/开裂，如果应用于破损的皮肤上，会刺痛。此外，它们是易燃的，如果摄入会造成伤害。它们在所有环境（如小学、痴呆症护理机构）中使用并不安全，某些信仰的人也不能接受。这个项目的重点是创造一种方便有效的基于次氯酸的洗手液。次氯酸是哺乳动物身体在应对病原体攻击时产生的。它是一种快速、安全的杀菌剂，对多种病原体（细菌、病毒、酵母、霉菌、原生动物、孢子）有效。它已经以液体形式用于医疗保健部门（硬表面消毒和手部卫生），但是专业用户和消费者都习惯了凝胶，并且对使用非凝胶配方犹豫不决。该项目将确定一种合适的凝胶基来配制含有次氯酸的洗手液，同时保持次氯酸作为杀菌剂与酒精相比的优越功效。它将考虑最佳剂量率和摩擦时间。最终的结果将是一种安全，广谱有效的洗手液，具有ABHR的所有便利属性，而没有缺点。标签将被设计成明确应该使用多少来符合BSEN 1500的要求，包装将有一个简单的使用机制来分配该体积。

Many community and health-care associated infections are preventable through good hand hygiene i.e. cleaning hands at the right times and in the right way with the most suitable method. Indeed enhanced hand hygiene has been a key part of the government strategy to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.The optimum method of maintaining good hand hygiene is through use of soap and hot running water. However, this is not always possible, practical or convenient. This has led to a surge in the use of alcohol based hand rubs (ABHRs).ABHRs are not produced using standard ingredients nor do they have a standard / declared strength, despite a minimum 65% concentration being required for them to be effective. In addition these products rarely have usage instructions on the label, despite the fact that BSEN 1500 states that 6 ml (2 washes with 3ml each time) is the necessary dose. Different alcohols have a varying spectrum of target organisms and not all alcohols are effective against all pathogens. ABHRs can cause drying / cracking of hands and can sting if applied to broken skin. In addition they are flammable and can cause harm if ingested. They are not safe to use in all environments (eg primary schools, dementia care settings) and are not acceptable to people of certain faiths.This project focusses on creating a convenient and efficacious hand rub based on hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is produced by the mammalian body in response to pathogen attack. It is a fast acting and safe biocide which is effective against a wide range of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, yeasts, moulds, protozoa, spores). It is already used in the healthcare sector in liquid form (hard surface disinfection and hand sanitation) however professional users and consumers alike are used to gels and are hesitant to use non-gel formulations. This project will identify a suitable gel base to formulate a hand rub containing hypochlorous acid whilst maintaining the superior efficacy of the hypochlorous acid compared to alcohol as a biocide. It will look at optimal dose rate and rub time. The end result will be a safe, broad-spectrum efficacious hand rub that possesses all the convenience attributes of an ABHR without the disadvantages. The labelling would be designed to make it clear how much should be used to comply with the requirements of BSEN 1500 and the packaging would have a simple use mechanism to dispense that volume.