BIOQUELL Z: Zone / Room / Building Bio-Decontamination
17 May 2007
Micro-organism contamination can have a catastrophic impact within the biotechnology industry, substantially delaying costly bio-pharmaceutical programmes, invalidating results or even cross-contaminating entire supply chains. In the fight against environmental microbial contamination, BIOQUELL has launched the BIOQUELL Z, a radically new concept in safe and effective micro-organism inactivation.
Combining BIOQUELL's acclaimed Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Vapour (HPV) based Clarus™ technology with extensive experience of decontaminating over 1,300 rooms within the biotechnology sector, the BIOQUELL Z has been designed to rapidly bio-decontaminate all exposed surface areas within a room of up to 500m³, with minimal effort.
The BIOQUELL Z is ideally suited for routine high-level disinfection of rooms thus acting as a preventative measure. The technology is proven to be a highly effective method to consistently eliminate micro organisms. Typical biotech applications for this unique and patented HPV generator are as follows:
- Disinfection of an area between campaigns or batches
- Disinfection of areas following maintenance
- Emergency decontamination of an area following a spillage or contamination problem
- Routine disinfection of cell culture or tissue culture areas
The BIOQUELL Z is designed for ease of use, allowing staff to decontaminate rooms with minimum effort and set-up time. The generator operates inside the room and the lectern detaches for positioning outside the target room, allowing for safe control. Once the room has been vacated and sealed, the unit can be set to run its decontamination cycle. High velocity, multi-directional nozzles effectively distribute HPV throughout the room, rapidly killing both airborne and surface micro-organisms.
The unit's unique parametric monitoring system automatically controls the amount of H2O2 vapour required to suit the environmental conditions. Once effective kill has been achieved, the HPV is aerated and catalytically converted into harmless water and oxygen. Following aeration, the decontaminated room is ready to be put back into immediate service, leaving no toxic residues or requiring additional cleaning or wipe-down.
Due to the excellent material compatibility of HPV, all equipment (including sensitive electronics and consumables) can be left within the room, ensuring that decontamination is achieved throughout. In as little as four hours, all surface areas within a room of 110m³ can be decontaminated and ready to be put back into service. The time can be dramatically reduced to 90 minutes by simply adding an R20 aerator.
The unit is GxP and GAMP compliant and comes complete with a printer and cycle parameter report. Validation is straightforward as the whole process can be verified using 6 log G. stearothermophilus biological indicators.
Due to the safety and environmental concerns of the continued use of formaldehyde fogging, HPV is fast becoming the disinfectant of choice within the biotech sector with its proven efficacy against bacterial endospores, vegetative bacteria, viruses, fungi, mycoplasma, bacteriophage and other organisms. The BIOQUELL Z provides a rapid, safe and effective means of applying hydrogen peroxide within the work place, promoting a clean and contamination-free, environment.
