Using aerosols to decontaminate surfaces from nucleic acids

Abstract

ABSTRACT The occurrence of cross-contamination, which leads to false-positive results when analyzing samples, is an important problem in the PCR laboratory. There are many ways to solve this problem, but none of them is universal. Treatment with aerosol is preferable for decontamination of large areas of complex surfaces. The goal of this study was to determine the efficiency of different modes of aerosol treatment for disinfection and nucleic acids decontamination. The solutions of compounds evolving active chlorine and active oxygen were used for decontamination of surfaces artificially contaminated with exogenous nucleic acids and bacteria. The potency of active ingredients of these solutions was assessed based on results of disinfection and nuclear acids decontamination. We have demonstrated effective modes of aerosol decontamination. The differences in conditions necessary for the nucleic acid decontamination and bacterial disinfection of laboratory surfaces are discussed.