Spring Issue — May 1999
Developing environmentally friendly germicides
Syed Sattar, professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine, is an international leader in the development of environmentally friendly germicides. His work is so unique and in demand that he is continually called upon for his expertise. Over the last 15 years he has completed over 90 contracts with the private sector totaling well over $2 million in research funding. He has collaborated with industry giants such as Johnson & Johnson Medical, Proctor & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Dial Corp, and Reckitt & Colman. He also receives, on a regular basis, peer-reviewed funding from numerous provincial, national and international agencies.Syed Sattar is presently working with two companies, Reckitt & Colman, based in Montvale, New Jersey, and Virox Technologies Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario. Reckitt & Colman produces a variety of disinfectants and antiseptics. Most of us have one or several of their products in our home, they include Gaviscon, Lysol Disinfectant Spray, Lysol antibacterial kitchen cleaner, Sani-Flush, Mop & Glo, Easy-Off oven cleaner, and yes, even French Mustard. Syed Sattar has also played a key role in the development of products at Virox Technologies, a smaller Canadian company producing disinfectants, which is on the verge of tapping into a much larger market.
Over the last few years we have seen a rise in germicide-containing household products such as hand soaps, dishwashing soaps, kitchen counter and bathroom cleaners, and even window cleaners. Although Sattar is in favour of germicidal products so as to help control the spread of disease and infections, he is somewhat concerned in their overuse in domestic settings. "If you publicise the use of germicides to the point where people overuse them, then serious problems may arise, such as the phenomenon of cross-resistance." There is some laboratory-based evidence which suggests that the decreased effectiveness of antibiotics in humans is not only due to the overuse of antibiotics but may also be due to the increased use of germicides. "The big question these days is when disease-causing bacteria becomes resistant to the germicide in your soap or disinfectants do they also become resistant to antibiotics as well?" asks Sattar.
"His work is so unique and in demand that he is continually called upon for his expertise"
In light of these mounting concerns, Sattar's goal is to help develop chemical formulations that are safe for both humans and the environment, and less likely to generate cross-resistance. A major focus of his research is to study the conditions that affect germs when outside the host, and to decrease the transmission of disease-causing agents by using safer chemical germicides.
President of Virox Technologies Inc., Michael Rochon, called on the expertise of Syed Sattar when he ran into a road block. "Sattar has a great desire to push environmentally safe products. Our work together has made a lot of sense since we had the same goals. The result is that we have created a line of products that is very safe and effective. With Sattar's expertise and input from his research team we were able to develop the delicately balanced formulations that created the accelerated and stabilised hydrogen peroxide, the basis of our products," says Rochon.
Recently, Virox Technologies Inc, was successful in registering five of their products with Health Canada and several others will soon be submitted for pre-market review and registration. According to Sattar, these new products hold a lot of promise in terms of germicide effectiveness and safety for humans and the environment. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the active ingredient, breaks down into oxygen and water once the disinfecting activity is complete. "Because stabilised and accelerated hydrogen peroxide products leave no active ingredient residual they are less likely to contribute to this environmental loading that may potential give rise to many more strains of resistant bacteria," explains Rochon. Virox Technologies has a variety of products with application in health care, aqua culture, dairy farming, general sanitation through to food processing.
Joseph Rubino, Senior Technical Director in R & D at Reckitt & Colman, has collaborated with Syed Sattar since the early 1990s. "We are very proud that the products that we present to the consumers are of the highest quality. Sattar's lab is internationally known and well respected for its high standards in testing and has been invaluable to us in getting our products approved by the U.S. FDA. Sattar's work in the area of germicides and disinfectants has really put the U of O on the map," says Rubino.
Sattar collaborated with Reckitt & Colman to develop a safe disinfectant for medical devices such as endoscopes. Since these expensive and delicate instruments can not be sterilised by steam, the devices are decontaminated by soaking in a germicide solution so as to eliminate the transference of germs from one patient to another. The traditional disinfectants used in this process are very toxic to humans and pose health risks to individuals working with these chemicals. The new solution based on hydrogen peroxide, non-toxic to humans and non-corrosive to the instruments, is efficient in destroying germs and removing dirt and grime. This new product will undoubtedly gain wide acceptance as a disinfectant in hospital settings.
Syed Sattar is in the process of having the "Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology (CREM)" approved by the University of Ottawa. The creation of the centre will ensure that Sattar's work continues to flourish, and prepare tomorrow's researchers in human health-related environmental microbiology.
Yvonne Taylor (Research Associate), Syed Sattar (Principal Investigator), Susan Springthorpe (Research Associate).