Radiosterilization of cotton based product for the improvement ofmicrobiological quality

摘要

The study was designed to determine the bioburden of locally manufactured surgical gauzes. Seven surgical gauzes labelled as 'sterile' were cultured onto nutrient agar, MacConkey Agar, Mannitol Salt Agar and Sabourad Dextrose Agar for the determination of Total Viable Bacterial Counts (TVBC), Total Coliform Count (TCC), Total Staphylococcal Count (TSC) and Total Fungal Count (TFC), respectively. All samples were found to be contaminated at 10~1 to 10~5 CFU/g level with bacterial contaminants such asBacillus spp., Streptococcus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. For quality improvement, samples were subjected to a series of radiation doses of 2.0, 2.5, 5.0,15 and 25 kGy. Among bacterial isolates, species of Bacillus showed highest level of resistance to radiation dose. A dose of 25 kGy was found suitable for the total elimination of contaminants rendering the product sterile.