13 INTERVIEW “The highlight is the novel active ingredient” With Bacillol® Zero, HARTMANN is expanding its range of surface disinfectants with a thoroughly sustainable product. Dr. Marco Krewing, Scientist at the HARTMANN SCIENCE CENTER (HSC) and expert in surface disinfection, explains what this requirement meant for product development and how exactly the now market-ready product works. Organic active ingredient complex fights pathogens from within then that some of the active ingredients used were not forwardlooking. We wanted to develop a consistently sustainable product and therefore focused early on acids that also occur naturally. Altogether, the finished product now consists of 98.5% ingredients of natural origin. However, the goal was always to cover all the spectrums of activity that are required in everyday clinical practice and also to meet the highest standards in terms of material compatibility. We have succeeded in doing this with the new Bacillol® Zero Tissues. The approval process was a challenge for us. We wanted to use the so-called "simplified authorisation procedure" of the EU Biocidal Products Regulation. This is always possible if the product consists exclusively of the 17 ingredients that have been classified as less hazardous according to the Biocidal Products Regulation. Due to their composition, Bacillol® Zero Tissues are, according to this approval, free of hazard symbols and may also be used without protective clothing if occupational safety and infection control allow it. In addition, Bacillol® Zero Tissues are dermatologically tested. But your customers won't have to compromise on efficacy, will they? No. Quite the opposite: according to European standards, our active ingredient complex offers bactericidal, yeasticidal, and virucidal efficacy within two minutes. We have also examined the various efficacies with demanding four-field tests, which our product withstood without exception. The results were consistently positive. Customers do not have to make any compromises in terms of material compatibility either. We have tested the product with many different materials: You can use Bacillol® Zero on displays and keyboards and on sensitive materials where you otherwise always have to be careful, for example acrylic glass. This also applies to medical devices used for non-invasive procedures. There are basically no surfaces in the near-patient environment that cannot be disinfected with Bacillol® Zero. Dr. Krewing, with the new Bacillol® Zero Tissues, HARTMANN has developed a completely sustainable agent for surface disinfection. How was that possible? The highlight is the novel active ingredient that we have developed specifically for this purpose. It is based on organic acids. We call it the Organic Acid Complex. This complex contains two organic acids that ideally complement each other in their effectiveness. This has not been done in disinfection for a very long time: to disregard the classic active ingredients and use a new type of active ingredient complex. This is the great novelty of Bacillol® Zero Tissues. That means that the new Bacillol® Zero Tissues contain no alcohol, no oxygen releasers, and no quaternary ammonium compounds - in short: QACs. And it is precisely the QACs that are repeatedly the focus of discussions. Bacillol® Zero Tissues already meet the latest requirements for a modern surface disinfectant. We have also patented the new active ingredient complex. It consists of two acids that are also found in fruits - benzoic and tartaric acid, known from berries and grapes. They work together and inactivate the pathogens from the inside. And that is also what is special about the effect of this active ingredient complex. What prompted the decision to develop a completely new active ingredient complex for surface disinfection? Did you anticipate the current discussions about certain active ingredients? In Germany, these discussions date back to last year, when the new guideline for surface cleaning and disinfection was published. We have been working on the new active ingredient complex for considerably longer because we already saw back More than 98.5% ingredients of natural origin
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