Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J J SHULL.
Hypotheses concerning kinetics of heat activation and of thermal death of bacterial spores were formulated, and were employed to derive equations describing nonlogarithmic thermal death curves. The equations permitted evaluation of the validity of experimental data and provided a means for testing the hypotheses presented.
The relationships of reaction temperature and concentration of gaseous ethylene oxide to the time required for inactivation of air-dried Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores are more complex than previously reported. A plot of temperature vs. the logarithm of "thermochemical death time" (TCDT) resulted in a straight line between 18 and 57 C for systems of "high" ethylene oxide concentration. The TCDT values were independent of ethylene oxide concentrations above certain temperature-dependent limits. A given ethylene oxide concentration produced a TCDT curve identical in the upper temperature regions with that for higher concentrations. As the temperature was lowered beyond a critical point, this curve diverged from that for higher concentrations, as a straight line of lesser slope. Thus, a series of curves exists for a range of ethylene oxide concentrations. They are characterized by two segments, both logarithmic, intersecting at a critical temperature for each concentration. The intersecting point is at a temperature inversely related to the ethylene oxide gas concentration. The temperature quotient for the high temperature segments of all systems was 1.8. This value was characteristic for ethylene oxide concentrations of 440 and 880 mg/liter at temperatures above 40.6 and 33.4 C, respectively. Below these critical temperatures, the Q(10) values for the respective systems were 3.2 and 2.3.
The duration of the equilibration period between admission of water vapor and subsequent introduction of gaseous ethylene oxide to an evacuated sterilizer chamber was studied with respect to its effect on the inactivation of spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger under simulated practical conditions. Introduction of a water-adsorbing cotton barrier between the spores and an incoming gas mixture of water vapor and ethylene oxide caused a marked increase in the observed thermochemical death time of the spore populations. This effect was negated by admission of water vapor one or more minutes prior to introduction of ethylene oxide gas. Increases in temperature and relative humidity of the system promoted passage of water vapor through the cotton barriers and diminished their effect.
The thermal death curve of dried spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus in saturated steam was characterized by three phases: (i) a sharp initial rise in viable count; (ii) a low rate of death which gradually increased; and (iii) logarithmic death at maximal rate. The first phase was a reflection of inadequate heat activation of the spore population. The second and third phases represented the characteristic thermal death curve of the spores in saturated steam. A jacketed steam sterilizer, equipped with a system for initial evacuation of the chamber, was examined for superheat during normal operation. Measurements of spore inactivation and temperature revealed superheat in surface layers of fabrics being processed in steam at 121 C. The high temperature of the fabric surfaces was attributed to absorption of excess heat energy from superheated steam. The superheated steam was produced at the beginning of the normal sterilizing cycle by transfer of heat from the steam-heated jacket to saturated steam entering the vessel.
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