Patent ID: 7550420

Claim:
A method for decontaminating or disinfecting a locus contaminated with one or more pathogens including an infective prion or prion particle comprising a) providing a set of peracid reaction components, said components comprising: 1) at least one substrate selected from the group consisting of: i) esters having the structure wherein R 1 ═C1 to C10 straight chain or branched chain alkyl optionally substituted with an hydroxyl or a C1 to C4 alkoxy group and R 2 ═C1 to C10 straight chain or branched chain alkyl group, (CH 2 CH 2 —O) n H or (CH 2 CH(CH 3 )—O) n H and n=1 to 10; ii) glycerides having the structure wherein R 1 ═C1 to C10 straight chain or branched chain alkyl optionally substituted with an hydroxyl or a C1 to C4 alkoxy group and R 3 and R 4 are individually H or R 1 C(O); and iii) amides having the structure: wherein R 5 and R 6 ═H or a C1 to C5 straight chain or branched alkyl group; 2) a source of peroxygen that provides a concentration of at least 500 mM hydrogen peroxide upon combining said reaction components; 3) at least one enzyme catalyst having perhydrolase activity, wherein said enzyme catalyst is selected from the group consisting of lipases, proteases, and mixtures thereof; and 4) at least one prion-degrading protease wherein one or more of the prion-degrading proteases may be the same as the enzyme catalyst providing the perhydrolase activity in (a)(3); b) combining said reaction components at a pH of 2.5 to 7.5, whereby a concentrated peracid solution is produced having a peracid concentration of at least 10 ppm within at least about 5 minutes to about 2 hours of combining said reaction components; c) optionally diluting said peracid solution produced in step (b); and d) contacting a locus contaminated with a microorganism, a virus, a prion or prion particle, or a combination thereof with the aqueous peracid solution produced in step b) or step c) whereby said locus is disinfected and said prion particle is degraded.