Biotechnology

Q: Do you have usable detergents above boiling temperature?  Any that we could consider that could withstand such high temps?

A: Great question.  There are several uses currently in play across many industries where detergents are used at or near boiling temperatures.
For use of detergents above the boiling point, a couple of factors need to be discussed. 

We are a large pharma company. We use Alconox detergent in an ISO 8 cleanroom that does not have a floor drain so rinsing in a cleanroom is a problem. We have a form, fill, seal machine with 2 pumps, tubing, and a hopper that have product contact. They are permanently installed.  Can we rinse with tap water if we are sanitizing after the rinse? How much rinsing is required?

Q. I’ve been told that we should no longer use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning our pharmaceutical equipment. What should we use instead?

A. In pharmaceutical cleaning applications, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is less than ideal. Alcohol will clean residues which are soluble in alcohol, but that is a limited range.  Using critical cleaning, aqueous detergents are a far more robust and will allow for more effective cleaning processes.

In order to “kill off” any microbial residue, a cleaning and removal of inanimate and organic matter is a must.  This would follow with the disinfecting, “kill” step if you will, with an EPA registered disinfectant. To prepare for removal of biofilms on stainless steel via a registered disinfectant, use a two-step process of Solujet alkaline cleaner followed by Citrajet acidic cleaner. Or consider our highly effective enzymatic detergent for use in manual applications including scrubbing, soaking, sonciation or low agitation cleaning in place.

Q. What can we do to reduce cleaning time?  We want to be as optimal and thorough in our cleaning as possible.  

A. At Alconox Inc we recognize that manual cleaning may take minutes, spray cleaning seconds, and soaking may take hours, possibly overnight, to achieve comparable cleanliness. Read more….