April 2011
Volume 52, Issue 14
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2011
Is Polyhexamethylene Biguanide (PHMB) an Effective Disinfectant for Adenovirus?
Eric G. Romanowski; Kathleen A. Yates; Katherine O'Connor; Francis S. Mah; Robert M. Shanks; Regis P. Kowalski
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Eric G. Romanowski
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Kathleen A. Yates
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Katherine O'Connor
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Francis S. Mah
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Robert M. Shanks
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Regis P. Kowalski
    The Charles T. Campbell Laboratory, UPMC Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  Eric G. Romanowski, None; Kathleen A. Yates, None; Katherine O'Connor, None; Francis S. Mah, None; Robert M. Shanks, None; Regis P. Kowalski, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  NIH Core Grant P30 EY008098, Research to Prevent Blindness, Eye & Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2011, Vol.52, 5857. doi:
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      Eric G. Romanowski, Kathleen A. Yates, Katherine O'Connor, Francis S. Mah, Robert M. Shanks, Regis P. Kowalski; Is Polyhexamethylene Biguanide (PHMB) an Effective Disinfectant for Adenovirus?. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2011;52(14):5857.

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Abstract

Purpose: : Polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) is a disinfectant used in swimming pools, hot tubs, and contact lens solutions. Swimming pools have been shown to act as vectors for the transmission of adenoviral (Ad) ocular infections. The goal of the current study was to determine whether PHMB is an effective disinfectant against common ocular Ad serotypes.

Methods: : The direct antiviral activity of PHMB was determined by incubating high-titer stocks of clinical isolates of Ad1, Ad2, Ad3, Ad4, Ad5, Ad7a, Ad8, Ad19, and ATCC Ad37, with 30 and 20 PPM (µg/ml) (the recommended concentration range for PHMB use in swimming pools and hot tubs) and control media for 24 hrs at room temperature (swimming pool) or 40oC (the recommended maximum hot tub temperature). Standard plaque assays were performed on the reaction mixtures to determine the Ad titers after PHMB or control treatment. Ad titers were Log converted and Log10 reductions in titers from the control were calculated. A one Log10 reduction in Ad titer was considered to be an effective reduction.

Results: : At room temperature, PHMB did not produce >1 Log10 reductions in titers for any of the Ad serotypes tested at 30 or 20 PPM. However, at 40oC, PHMB produced >1 Log10 reductions in Ad titers at both 30 and 20 PPM for Ad1, Ad3, Ad5, Ad8, Ad19, and Ad37, but not for Ad2, Ad4, and Ad7a.

Conclusions: : PHMB, at concentrations used to disinfect swimming pools and hot tubs, was ineffective in reducing Ad titers at room temperature. The effectiveness of PHMB in reducing Ad titers increased when the temperature was raised to 40oC, but its effectiveness did not cover all of the Ad serotypes tested. PHMB does not appear to be an effective disinfectant against Ad in swimming pools and was only moderately effective in hot tubs. Presumably, the concentrations of PHMB in contact lens solutions (1-5 PPM) may be ineffective for the disinfection of contact lenses contaminated with adenovirus.

Keywords: adenovirus • antiviral drugs 
© 2011, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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