The compounds deposited could be proteins, nucleic acids, oligosaccharides and lipids. In light of the emergence of vCJD, a qualitative and quantitative study to determining the removal of such macromolecules could be used to monitor the efficiency of the washing and decontaminating procedures.
Proteins are the major macromolecule component of tissues.
It is well known that proteins adsorb with varying tenacity to surfaces. This proposal aims to study, in detail, methods of removing biological materials, particularly protein, from surgical instruments and other instruments. Following an evaluation of high sensitive protein assays, the most sensitive will, in the first instance, be used to monitor the removel of model proteins from various stainless steel and other surfaces. The removal efficiency of various cleaning procedures in biological systems will be evaluated using test pieces. The second objective is to develop easily applied screening tests for assessing efficiency of cleaning in a CSSD setting.