This Small Business Innovation Research Grant Phase I project is investigating an innovative disinfectant product designed to improve on the limited efficacy of disinfectants used in hospitals. This research is based on the fact that inanimate surfaces in clinical environments frequently harbor viable, pathogenic, and often drug-resistant microorganisms. These surfaces are generally considered to be "non-critical" in the Spaulding Scheme, yet contamination of the clinical environment has been increasingly implicated in nosocomial infection in the recent scientific literature. Considering the mortality and morbidity associated with nosocomial infections, it is our assertion that in hospitals, there is no such thing as a "non-critical" surface. Our research is based on the hypothesis that disinfectant efficacy can be increased through a combination of innovative improvements specifically targeting current weaknesses in disinfectant formulation and methodology. Nosocomial microbes are often able to withstand conditions of drying, temperature variation, and protracted periods of time without nutritive support on a wide variety of inanimate clinical surfaces including sinks, water fountains, bed-rails, furniture, curtains, bathroom surfaces, telephone receivers, and many others. The capacity to adhere to surfaces contributes to the formation of biofilms (saturated and unsaturated), and to the transition to a more resistant phenotype. The capacity to adhere to inanimate surfaces, to gain resistance, and to form biofilms contributes to the ability of many microbial species to survive and remain endemic in clinical environments. Microbion Corporation has an innovative strategy to improve disinfectant efficacy in hospitals, and to more effectively prevent contact between compromised patients and pathogens. The strategic goals of this research are to improve 1) disinfectant efficacy, 2) disinfectant methodology, and 3) removal of adherent pathogenic microorganisms and biofilms from clinical environments. As commercial products, these innovative disinfectants are expected to help reduce the rate of nosocomial infection
