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Reliable safety with IVF gold standard disinfectant and cleaning solution


Did you know? A poorly disinfected IVF laboratory can jeopardize the embryos and dreams of numerous couples. India has close to 34 million couples with lifetime infertility. With the advent of technology, skilled fertility doctors & embryologists, and superior-quality medicines, it is possible to achieve 60-80% IVF success rates. [1]

An infection-free environment plays a vital role in both IVF laboratories and service facilities. The use of high-level disinfectant solutions to maintain the required sterile environment is an essential practice.

In addition to the use of disinfectant solutions, regular sterilization protocols are implemented to maintain optimal laboratory conditions. These protocols include thorough cleaning of equipment and surfaces to reduce the presence of microorganisms.[2]

It is fundamental to the success of the treatment cycle that any disinfectant and cleaning solution is effective, safe, easy to use, and does not have the potential to damage the embryo or interfere with the treatment cycle.

Failure to select the correct product can only increase costs affect clinic reputation and negatively impact the experience and dreams of couples IVF treatment.

What are the challenges when selecting products to improve hygiene compliance in IVF laboratories?

To ensure that the disinfectant and cleaning products you use do not negatively impact the treatment cycle, select products that meet certain minimum standards.

When testing for IVF disinfectants and cleaners, not all products are equal and many do not meet the gold standard you should be aiming for to ensure success in your treatment cycle.

1. Does it meet MEA Standards

The Mouse Embryo Assay (MEA) test is the recognised global standard to assess the impact of disinfectant and cleaning products in the IVF laboratory. The results are frequently monitored to draw conclusions about the safety and reliability of IVF laboratory disinfectants and cleaning agents.

It is all about the numbers when assessing MEA tests as the more embryos and the length of time a product is exposed to an MEA test protocol indicates the higher safety level of the product. Typically, many products will only meet minimum standards such as 16 embryos and 48 hours of exposure. The gold standard is 30 embryos and 6 days of exposure.

Also, some products such as alcohol and hypochlorite formulas will simply not pass even the minimum MEA test standard.

2. Which standard SMA or HSSA?

Human Sperm Motility Assay (SMA) and Human Sperm Survival Assay (HSSA) are two primarily used testing methods. SMA considers only the spermatozoa that show motility even after exposure to IVF laboratory disinfectant, unlike HSSA, which only considers the survival percentage of sperms after exposure.

SMA is the gold standard since it indicates sperm movements are not affected, providing a more effective safety indicator in an IVF laboratory!

3. Is it effective against harmful organisms?

The risk of Mycobacteria and Spores is very high in IVF laboratories along with other microbes, viz. Fungi, Vegetative Bacteria and Viruses. Mycobacteria can be difficult to treat and may also be resistant to antibiotics. Spores are typically dormant and highly resistant to environmental conditions and disinfectants. However, they are the least susceptible which makes them the hardest to kill.

It is important to ensure that your product effectively deals with these organisms and has been tested to the latest standards such as the following standards

EN13624 Fungi & yeast – EN13727 – Bacteria EN14476 – Viruses EN17126 – Spores EN14348 – Mycobacteria [T.B.] - EN1500 EN

In addition to this, you should also consider the contact time required for the product to work.

If the product contact time is too long, is it really practicable to use?

Alcohol based formulation typically require a minimum contact time of over 30 seconds however the product will have evaporated off the surface before then so is it really effective in real-life use?

Finally, you should consider whether the products have been tested in clean or dirty conditions. Dirty conditions reflect real-life use, so surely this is the gold standard you should be aiming for?

All-round efficacy against bacteria, viruses, spores, yeast, and fungi with minimal contact time is the gold standard you should be aiming for.

4. VOC-free Disinfectants create a safe environment for incubators

Many high-level disinfectant solutions such as ethanol, alcohol, and hypochlorite formulations contain high levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which, while efficient for sterilized cleaning, can also pose harm.

It's crucial to recognize that these disinfectants may not always be the optimal choice, as VOCs can have adverse health effects. Moreover, there's evidence suggesting that gametes and zygotes can be impacted by exposure to these compounds.[3]

VOCs include QACs which are commonly used as IVF laboratory cleaning solutions. Replacing them with VOC-free, IVF-grade disinfectants is a better choice.

The absence of VOCs makes a product the gold standard choice by making it incubator-safe, providing the most user-friendly and safe result.

What makes Bioguard IVF-grade disinfectant better than others?

When it comes to ensuring that our product is the gold standard for users, we always choose the toughest test standards conducted by leading laboratories to independently demonstrate to users, that our products are leading the way.

For our IVF range of products we have

  • Each product batch is MEA by one of Europe’s leading IVF testing laboratories
  • MEA tested with no fewer than 30 embryos and against a 6-day-exposure to ensure we provide the desired level of confidence in the safety and reliability!
  • We have tested our products using a more sensitive Sperm Motility Assay (SMA) compared to the Human Sperm Survival Assay (HSSA)!
  • Ensure they are VOC-free!
  • You can use our IVF-grade, alcohol-free, and VOC-free disinfectants to clean any surface, and it will be disinfected from a 30-second contact time.
  • Total protection against bacteria, viruses, spores, mycobacteria fungi and yeast.

Apart from the super-fast disinfection action, here are some USPs that enable IVF healthcare professionals to combat infections with Bioguard-

  • Latest formulation Biochem: Powered with the latest generation QACs, Bioguard disinfectants are both virucidal and sporicidal effective.

  • Manufacturing excellence: Formulated to produce the highest quality products, Bioguard is trusted by healthcare professionals and regularly used in more than 25,000 healthcare settings.

  • Proven efficiency: Independently tested to the EN gold standards (EN13624, EN13727, EN14476, EN17126, EN14348, EN16615, and EN1500) in poor air quality conditions to reflect real-time use.

  • Powerful & Efficient: Combined cleaning and disinfection capability, effective in eliminating residual bioburden in high-soiling environments

  • Dual Action: A unique compound for high-performance cleaning & disinfection; effective against bacteria, Mycobacterium, and spores, including MRSA, M. tuberculosis, Salmonella spp., and Hepatitis virus.

  • Multi-surface: Applicable on virtually all surfaces (including fabrics and furnishings), so they can decontaminate an entire environment without damaging surfaces.

  • Safe & Eco-friendly: MEA and VOC tested to ensure that they are safe and do not cause any harm to the users. Bioguard disinfectants are also eco-friendly and non-damaging to the environment.

  • Greater dilutions & Cost-effective: 2 in 1 disinfection action of our products eliminates the need for multiple products, making them cost-effective.

Furthermore, our disinfectants allow up to 40% more dilutions per liter, adding to the cost-effectiveness.

Bioguard combined with the power of Biochem and enhanced packaging with HDPE, offers a powerful and effective solution to infection control that is easy to apply.

Bioguard - we make gold-standard IVF infection control easy


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