How to Select the Correct Detergent

Question:

Does Alconox provide any literature on how to select the correct detergent for various applications?

Answer:

Yes! The Alconox Guide to Critical Cleaning contains a detergent selection guide as well as industry specific cleaning information for Medical Device Manufacturing, the Pharmaceutical industry, Laboratory, the Environmental industry, and various other industries. The guide provides critical cleaning procedures which includes directions for Alconox detergents, cleaning method instructions for Ultrasonic, CIP, and various other methods.

Maximum Wash Temperature for Liquinox

Question:

What is the maximum wash temperature for Liquinox? At this maximum temperature is there an accelerated breakdown of detergent?

Answer:

Liquinox is heat stable all the way to boiling at standard temperature and pressure conditions. From a practical standpoint, there are some detergency mechanisms that begin to break down mechanistically as you approach boiling. Emulsions begin to become less stable as you approach within a couple degrees of boiling. If emulsifying is not a critical cleaning mechanism, this may not be relevant to you. Maintaining a hot temperature and keeping water from evaporating is also a practical consideration as far as maximum temperature is concerned. As you approach boiling, the rates of evaporation of water increase and it becomes more important to add make-up water in order to maintain a controlled concentration of Liquinox. It is also of course energy intensive to maintain a near boiling solution. As you approach boiling, corrosion mechanisms are at their peak, so sometimes it does not pay to approach boiling temperatures from a substrate stability standpoint. From a practical standpoint, you would not typically use Liquinox much above 95 deg C (200 deg F). With that said, there are unique applications we are aware of that employ boiling Liquinox for small parts washing, i.e. used in jewelry making where parts are dipped into a pot of boiling Liquinox and the end user has to periodically add make-up water to compensate for water evaporation.

Measuring Concentration through Conductivity

Question:

How can I use conductivity to measure the concentration of a Solujet solution in order to control the concentration in a cleaning bath?

Answer:

In cleaning machines that have sumps or baths that are used repeatedly for cleaning where there will be dragout of solution on the parts being cleaned, evaporation of water, make-up water being added, and possibly dilution with rinse water, the cleaner concentration will constantly be changing as the solution is altered by any of these mechanisms. One way to control this is to monitor the conductivity of the solution which will allow you to determine the concentration of Solujet present which in turn will allow you to determine how much Solujet to add to bring the solution back up to full cleaning strength. For example the conductivity of Solujet at 22 deg C for weight/weight percent Solujet is as follows: 0.125% = 0.64 mS; 0.25% = 1.26 mS; 0.5% = 2.45 mS; 1% = 4.85 mS; 2% = 9.2 mS; and 4% = 17.9 mS. You can contact Alconox at cleaning@alconox.com to get a copy of an excel spreadsheet with this data in it along with a graph for interpreting results.

Alconox Soak Time for Tattoo Instruments

Question:

During a recent inspection, I found the tattoo facility soaking their tattoo gun tubes in a solution of Alconox for up to 3 to 5 days before they accumulate enough of them to put through the steam sterilizer. Is this an appropriate use of the Alconox solution? Should the same solution be used for 3 plus days?

Answer:

The intended and recommended way to use Alconox is to make up a solution and to soak and clean promptly (within 8 hours). We have data showing that a diluted Alconox solution can last for 3 weeks in a closed container.

Longevity of Tergazyme Solution

Question:

How long will the enzyme in a 1% solution of Tergazyme remain active?

Answer:

A 1% Tergazyme solution is designed to give good reliable cleaning performance for 8 hours at 120 deg F. This is designed to correspond to an 8 hour work shift in a hospital. We are confident that after 8 hours there will still be good enzymatic activity as long as you have not exceeded 130 deg F temperatures, so if by chance the Tergazyme solution is not changed or made fresh at the beginning of a shift, it should still provide some cleaning efficiency. We do not recommend routinely using a solution for 16 hours.

Removing Fish Oil Residues

Question:

We would like to have a neutral foaming cleaning agent to clean FISH OIL and GELATIN residues. We will also need a validation method to test residue.

Answer:

I recommend you evaluate Liquinox detergent. Liquinox is a neutral pH range, high foaming concentrated cleaner. You dilute it 1:100 or 10 mL/L to use it. For fish oil and gelatin I would use a hot solution to clean with followed by a hot rinse. I am sure you are aware that fish oil can have a very persistent odor. Using a neutral range cleaner to remove fish oils, you may need to clean more than once, or you may need to clean once very thoroughly. You may need to use a very hot water solution for the best results. Be sure your first rinse is as hot as or hotter than your cleaning solution so as to avoid hitting the surface with a cold rinse that will break the emulsion of residual oil and cause it to redeposit.

Review the cleaning validation references for Liquinox - once you know which residue detection method you want to use, please let us know and we will send you the details of that method. I believe Pramod Patel of Emcure has developed a residue detection method for the anionic surfactant in Alconox powdered detergent- I believe an HPLC method. You can use this same method to detect the anionic surfactant in Liquinox as a residue detection method. Note that if you were willing to use the still very mild pH Alconox powder (pH 9.5), that hot 1% Alconox could be used for this cleaning purpose as well. I am recommending Liquinox because you asked for a neutral cleaner.

Method to Detect Trace Residues

Question:

How do I find an analytical method to detect trace residues of Alconox brand cleaners for a cleaning validation?

Answer:

The best place to find analytical methods for detergent residue detection for either a pharmaceutical or medical device cleaning validation are on the "Pharmaceutical Cleaning Validation" references found on the upper right hand corner of www.alconox.com. This document refers to many possible methods and discusses how to use them.

Once you have reviewed the references, contact Alconox at cleaning@alconox.com for details about your preferred analytical detection method.