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Antibacterial Activity of Brass against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Following Repeated Exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide/Peracetic Acid and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds
Dauvergne, E.; Lacquemant, C.; Mullié, C. Antibacterial Activity of Brass against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria following Repeated Exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide/Peracetic Acid and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. Microorganisms2024, 12, 1393.
Dauvergne, E.; Lacquemant, C.; Mullié, C. Antibacterial Activity of Brass against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria following Repeated Exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide/Peracetic Acid and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. Microorganisms 2024, 12, 1393.
Dauvergne, E.; Lacquemant, C.; Mullié, C. Antibacterial Activity of Brass against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria following Repeated Exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide/Peracetic Acid and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. Microorganisms2024, 12, 1393.
Dauvergne, E.; Lacquemant, C.; Mullié, C. Antibacterial Activity of Brass against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria following Repeated Exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide/Peracetic Acid and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. Microorganisms 2024, 12, 1393.
Abstract
Copper-containing materials are attracting attention as self-desinfecting surfaces, suitable for helping healthcare settings in reducing healthcare associated infections. However, the impact of repeated exposure to disinfectants frequently used in biocleaning protocols on their antibacterial activity remains insufficiently characterized. This study aimed at evaluating the antibacterial effi-ciency of copper (positive control), a brass alloy (AB+®) and stainless steel (negative control) after repeated exposure to a quaternary ammonium compound and/or a mix of peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide routinely used in healthcare settings. A panel of 6 antibiotic-resistant strains (clinical isolates) was selected for this assessment. After a short (5 min) exposure time, the copper and brass materials retained significantly better antibacterial efficiencies than stainless steel, whatever the bacterial strain or disinfectant treatment considered. Moreover, post-treatment with both disinfectant products, copper-containing materials still reached similar levels of antibacterial efficiency as those obtained before treatment. Antibiotic resistance mechanisms such as efflux pump overexpression did not impair the antibacterial efficiency of copper-containing materials, neither did the presence of one or several genes related to copper homeostasis/resistance. In light of those results, surfaces made out of copper and brass remain interesting tools in the fight against dissemination of antibiotic-resistant strains that might cause healthcare associated infections.
Biology and Life Sciences, Immunology and Microbiology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
