+44 (0)1327 313100 enquiries@rbt.global

Study Confirms RBT’s Biodegradable Wipes Outperform Plastic Alternatives in Fighting Superbugs

We conducted a study with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to find out if our biodegradable wipes were more effective than standard plastic wipes.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest threats currently facing global healthcare. It was directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide in 2019 and associated with a further 3.7 million.[i] New multidrug resistant bacteria strains (or superbugs) are continually being found. Discovering and bringing new antibiotics to market is a long and difficult process. For these reasons it is vital that we only use antibiotics where absolutely necessary; in this regard effective cleaning and disinfection is key to help combat infections spreading.

The prevalence of biofilms makes controlling the spread of resistant infections even more difficult. The majority of bacteria (an estimated 99%) exist in these multicellular communities, adhered to the surface in a matrix of secreted material. Biofilms protect bacteria from drying out and make them harder for disinfectants to kill.[ii] As well as imposing a significant cost in the medical sector, biofilms act as breeding grounds for new drug resistant strains,[iii] making them a crucial obstacle in the fight against infection.

We worked with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to test three of our formulations, using the EN16615 method; this is the industry standard for assessing the effectiveness of disinfectant wipes. Biofilms were grown from one of five resistant species on steel squares, which were then cleaned off with the different wipes. Any remaining bacteria were then recovered and counted to measure the effectiveness of each wipe.

The antibiotic-resistant strains we tested against were:

  • Methicillin resistant aureus (MRSA)
  • Carbapenem resistant baumanii (CRAB)
  • Multidrug resistant aeruginosa (MRPA)
  • Colistin resistant coli
  • abscessus (a non-tuberculous mycobacterium)

We tested three of our disinfectant formulations, Protectus Ultimate, Protectus Viridis, and our latest formulation Protectus Salvus. For each disinfectant formulation, we tested wipes made from two materials: biodegradable viscose, and polypropylene which is representative of most wipes on the market.

All the wipes tested significantly reduced the number of living bacteria. They completely killed MRSA, CRAB, and MRPA, and reduced E. coli to a negligible level. However, while very effective, the polypropylene wipes were not able to completely kill Mycobacterium abscessus but the biodegradable viscose wipes did. It is particularly notable that the fully biodegradable wipes performed best, achieving better kill rates. Many people rightly want to reduce the amount of plastic waste they produce. This shows that we do not need to sacrifice efficacy to be kinder to the environment.

The key takeaways are:

  • The spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogens is one of the most pressing issues facing global healthcare today.
  • Effective removal of surface biofilms plays a crucial role in combatting this problem.
  • RBT disinfectant wipes have been proven to be highly effective at removing biofilms.
  • Our biodegradable disinfectants and wipes perform just as well, or better, than the conventional alternatives.

 

Protectus Viridis and Protectus Salvus are our fully biodegradable disinfectant, while Ultimate is a quat base product

 [i] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext

[ii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6630215/

[iii] Cámara, M., Green, W., MacPhee, C.E. et al. Economic significance of biofilms: a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral challenge. npj Biofilms Microbiomes 8, 42 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-022-00306-y