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Monday, 09/17/2012 9:25:29 AM

Monday, September 17, 2012 9:25:29 AM

Post# of 52074
Here is our specific response on Altapure: (from Ed Marshall, July 2012)

The question you raised about Altapure caused us to do a little research, as the system uses Peracteic acid rather than ozone or hydrogen peroxide which is produced by mixing peroxide and acetic acid. Below are some astute observations from my research team leaders, Drs Shannon and Zoutman which you may find of interest:

1. Peracteic acid has been used for decades as a bleaching agent in the pulp industry. It is well known in that industry as well as the health care industry as a cleaning agent for stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs etc.;

2. It has the same oxidizing potential as H2O2 of 1.8 and at high concentrations can achieve a 4 log kill for most bacteria;

3. Ozone has an oxidizing potential of 2.1 and at high concentrations can achieve a 4.5 log kill for most bacteria;

4. Trioxidane, which is derived by mixing ozone and peroxide, has an oxidation potential of 2.8 and is only exceeded by fluorine, which has an oxidizing potential of 3 (very dangerous). With this extremely high oxidative potential, trioxidane can readily achieve 6-7 logs of kill for all bacteria including both aerobic and anaerobic spore formers such as Clostridium difficile and Bacillus subtitles (surrogate for anthrax) in biofilms; and

5. Although peracetic acid (the basis for Altapure) may be marginally effective in an empty room or on non-electronic equipment such as stethoscopes, its effects on sensitive electronic devices is unknown and our engineers advise that it cannot be used to sterilize circuit boards during manufacturing.

The key difference here between per acetic acid and trioxidane is the 33% increase in oxidizing potential of Trioxidane, which is supported by its unmatched efficacy across all pathogens in a manner virtually to that of the human body. It is also noteworthy that there has been no published data on bacterial kill with peracteic acid either in the laboratory or complex settings of a hospital .

We could not find any peer review or published research to support the Altapure claims of 100% kill (>6 log) and the well established differences in oxidizing potential (1.8 vs 2.8) would draw into question the validity of their claim.
As a leading infectious disease specialist, researcher and author of hundreds of articles in this area, Dr Zoutman is familiar with almost all imaginable systems for hospital disinfection (see slide presentation attached).

This system as a means of decontaminating hospital spaces and content is unfamiliar to members of the Ontario Infectious Disease Control Committee (chaired by Dr Zoutman).

It is always suspicious when a company in this field does not have any medical professional voice on staff.

They have clearly not taken the normal road toward obtaining recognition with the scientific and medical community which has clear established pathways to validation; i.e. documented and published scientific studies, peer review journal research, presentations at medical conventions. Without published data that has been verified by outside sources it is hard to imagine them every gaining traction.

With an oxidation potential only 60% of that for Trioxidane, it is difficult to imagine how they could become competitive. Both approaches are "green" and both (as best we can tell) may be comparable in terms of time, but both systems are not comparable in terms of efficacy.

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