Evaluation of various cleaning methods to remove bacillus spores from spacecraft hardware materials

Astrobiology
Kasthuri VenkateswaranRoger G Kern

Abstract

A detailed study was made of the biological cleaning effectiveness, defined in terms of the ability to remove bacterial spores, of a number of methods used to clean hardware surfaces. Aluminum (Al 6061) and titanium (Ti 6Al-4V) were chosen for the study as they were deemed the two materials most likely to be used in spacecraft extraterrestrial sampler construction. Metal coupons (1 cm x 2.5 cm) were precleaned and inoculated with 5.8 x 10(3) cultivable Bacillus subtilis spores, which are commonly found on spacecraft surfaces and in the assembly environments. The inoculated coupons were subsequently cleaned using: (1) 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe; (2) water wipe; (3) multiple-solvent flight-hardware cleaning procedures used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); (4) Johnson Space Center-developed ultrapure water rinse; and (5) a commercial, semi-aqueous, multiple-solvent (SAMS) cleaning process. The biological cleaning effectiveness was measured by agar plate assay, sterility test (growing in liquid media), and epifluorescent microscopy. None of the cleaning protocols tested completely removed viable spores from the surface of the aluminum. In contrast, titanium was capable of being cleaned to sterility by two methods, the JPL st...Continue Reading

References

Jan 9, 1999·Clinical Microbiology Reviews·G McDonnell, A D Russell
Aug 24, 2001·Systematic and Applied Microbiology·K VenkateswaranD White
Oct 10, 2001·BMC Infectious Diseases·T C PennaA M Silva Martins
Oct 17, 2002·Canadian Journal of Microbiology·Christine FailleThierry Benezech
Jan 18, 2003·Journal of Microbiological Methods·Kasthuri VenkateswaranRoger Kern
Mar 27, 2003·International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology·Kasthuri VenkateswaranRoger Kern
Sep 27, 2003·Environmental Microbiology·Myron T La DucKasthuri Venkateswaran
Jan 30, 2004·Microbial Ecology·M T La DucK Venkateswaran

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Citations

Dec 18, 2007·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Shariff OsmanKasthuri Venkateswaran
Feb 16, 2010·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Bonnie J BerryAndrew C Schuerger
Mar 15, 2011·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·K KwanK Venkateswaran
Aug 9, 2005·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Ronald L Crawford
Jul 3, 2013·Extremophiles : Life Under Extreme Conditions·Madhan R Tirumalai, George E Fox
Jun 12, 2012·Astrobiology·Parag A VaishampayanKasthuri J Venkateswaran
Jun 6, 2009·Astrobiology·Jennifer EigenbrodeUNKNOWN AMASE 2006 Team

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