Cleaning Protein in Pharmaceutical and Biotech Manufacturing

Q. How do you clean protein out of pipes, centrifuges and tanks in a recirculation CIP environment with water temperatures averaging 20°C?

A. In a cooler/ambient temperature environment, protein cleaning and removal can certainly be tough.  After all, heat expedites cleaning.  Consider adding an enzymatic cleaner to your alkaline/acidic cleaning routine. A product like Tergazyme® Enzyme-Active Powdered Detergent, which contains both proteases and powerful emulsifying surfactants, is not only efficient at removing the protein residue, but will also slow down the formation of biofilm and bioresidue.  It will allow the regular cleaning cycle to clean effectively for more cycles.

For protein cleaning and removal, the enzyme cleaves the serine bond of the protein.  For biofilms, the protease addresses both the cells and any proteins bound up in the polysaccharide biofilm, whereas the surfactants improve wetting and penetration thru the hydrophobic polysaccharide biofilm.

Learn more about how enzymatic detergent works by watching our brief Tergazyme Video.

Please note that Tergazyme detergent is a powder that you typically mix 1-3% in cool to warm water (not to exceed 55°C to ensure integrity of the enzyme). Use within 8 hours of formulation ensure the enzymes have not autocatalyzed. 

Tergazyme detergent is a high foaming cleaner and would not be suitable for a spray-in-air, clean-in-place system. You can pump and gently agitate Tergazyme solutions (ex. recirculation/flow-through CIP); however you cannot employ high agitation at an air/solution interface without getting excessive foam. If you have an old protein build-up or biofilm resiude, you might want to do a 30-60 minute 3% Tergazyme clean (soak/recirculation) at your 20°C before routine cleaning procedures.  This soak can be done periodically as preventive maintenance as well.  Again, while heat helps, the cleaning powerful of the Tergazyme solution will be effective at removing protein at ambient temperatures.

To request Tergazyme or any Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample. For more information about any one of our Alconox, Inc. detergents, consult the technical bulletin for each product. Or click here to access each of our detergent’s  Safety Data Sheets.

Do you have a critical cleaning question for the experts at Alconox, Inc.?  Search TechNotes to see if it’s been answered before or Ask Alconox.

Contact us any time: cleaning@alconox.com