Abstract
Purpose: :
Although standards exist for determining the efficacy of contact lens care solutions (CLCS) against bacteria and fungi (ISO 14729) none exist for Acanthamoeba. As such, conflicting findings on the effectiveness of CLCS against the organism have been reported. Here we describe a quantifiable, reproducible and reliable method for assessing the disinfection of Acanthamoeba by CLCS.
Methods: :
A. castellanii
Results: :
After a 6 hour contact time, the log reduction in trophozoite viability for the solutions were: MPS-1 (2.5 ±0.2 n=8), MPS-2 (1.8 ±0.2 n=8), MPS-3 (0.1 ±0.1 n=3), MPS-4 (2.7 ±0.2 n=8), PER-1 (3.8 ±0.2 n=8). For the cysts the values were: MPS-1 (2.9 ±0.3 n=3), MPS-2 (2.5 ±0.2 n=3), MPS-3 (0.7 ±0.1 n=3), MPS-4 (0.2 ±0.1 n=6) and PER-1 (2.7 ±0.3 n=3).
Conclusions: :
The method is relatively simple to perform and enables the reproducible and quantifiable determination of CLCS efficacy against Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts. This will facilitate the introduction of a standardised and universal approach to Acanthamoeba disinfection testing in line with that prescribed by ISO 14729 for bacteria and fungi.
Keywords: Acanthamoeba • amoeba • contact lens