Developing stabilized electrolytes solutions for disinfecting and antimicrobial applications

在医疗应用中使用的最常见的消毒剂和清洁剂是由次氯酸钠（或钙）（即漂白剂）组成的溶液。在水溶液中，次氯酸盐本身通常不稳定。事实上，在中性或酸性条件下，在金属离子的存在下，或在加热时，次氯酸盐可以水解成次氯酸，次氯酸迅速降解成氯、氧和其他氯酸盐的混合物（作为不溶性沉淀物）。由于这种不稳定性，稀释漂白剂的消毒溶液通常每天新鲜制备;这既不切实际又昂贵。然而，用于稳定次氯酸盐的方法之一是添加碱性水溶性无机化合物。医疗保健领域的一些主要参与者已与Pharmax Ltd.接洽，要求为透析设备生产和提供消毒/清洁解决方案。由于管路直径、流速和机械中使用的混合材料（塑料、金属等），透析设备的有效清洁特别具有挑战性。为此，这项研究的重点是开发一种新的漂白剂配方，与市场上的其他医疗保健产品相比，该配方具有长期稳定性和降低的成本。

The most common disinfectants and cleaning agents used in medical applications are solutions comprised of sodium (or calcium) hypochlorite (i.e. bleach). On their own in aqueous solution, hypochlorites are generally unstable. In fact, under neutral or acidic conditions, in the presence of metal ions, or upon heating, hypochlorite can be hydrolyzed into hypochlorous acid, which quickly degrades into a mixture of chlorine, oxygen and other chlorates (as insoluble precipitates). Because of this instability, disinfecting solutions of diluted bleach are usually prepared fresh daily; both impractical and costly. However, one of the methods used to stabilize hypochlorite is to add basic water-soluble inorganic compounds. Pharmax Ltd. has been approached by some major players in the healthcare space, with the request to produce and deliver disinfecting/cleaning solutions for dialysis equipment. Dialysis equipment is particularly challenging to clean effectively owing to the tubing diameter, flow rates and mixed materials used in the machinery (plastics, metal, etc.). To this end, this research is focused on the development of a new bleach formulation that long term stability and reduced cost, when compared to other healthcare products on the market.