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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2005, p. 542-546, Vol. 71, No. 1
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.71.1.542-546.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Biocidal Activity of Formaldehyde and Nonformaldehyde Biocides toward Mycobacterium immunogenum and Pseudomonas fluorescens in Pure and Mixed Suspensions in Synthetic Metalworking Fluid and Saline
Suresh B. Selvaraju,
Izhar U. H. Khan, and
Jagjit S. Yadav*
Molecular Toxicology Division, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Received 14 April 2004/
Accepted 16 August 2004

ABSTRACT
The microbicidal activity of four different biocides was studied
in synthetic metalworking fluid (MWF) against
Mycobacterium immunogenum, a suspected causative agent for hypersensitivity
pneumonitis, and
Pseudomonas fluorescens, a representative for
the predominant gram-negative bacterial contaminants of MWF.
The results indicated that
M. immunogenum is more resistant
than
P. fluorescens to the tested formaldehyde-releasing biocides
(Grotan and Bioban), isothiazolone (Kathon), and phenolic biocide
(Preventol). Kathon was effective against mycobacteria at lower
concentrations than the other three test biocides in MWF. In
general, there was a marked increase in biocidal resistance
of both the test organisms when present in MWF matrix compared
to saline. Increased resistance of the two test organisms to
biocides was observed when they were in a mixed suspension (1:1
ratio). The results indicate the protective effect of the MWF
matrix against the action of commonly used biocides on the MWF-colonizing
microbial species of occupational health significance, including
mycobacteria.

INTRODUCTION
Metalworking fluid (MWF) is used as lubricant, coolant, and/or
metal removing agent in machining operations. The modern synthetic
metalworking fluids, which contain organic and inorganic salts,
hydrocarbons, organic esters, and lubricating fluids, are excellent
sources of nutrition for microorganisms (
5). Microbial contamination
of MWF has been frequently associated with occupational health
problems, such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to inhalation
of aerosolized MWF bacteria (
9,
10) and dermatitis due to MWF
microflora exposure (
1), that occur in metalworkers. The occurrence
of mycobacteria in MWF and their potential occupational health
significance has been highlighted (
8,
10,
18).
Mycobacterium immunogenum, a nontuberculous
Mycobacterium species, has been
reported in MWF and implicated as possible causative agent of
hypersensitivity pneumonitis in machine workers who have been
exposed to it (
21,
23,
24). Among other MWF microbial communities,
pseudomonads often constitute the major fraction of gram-negative
organisms responsible for endotoxin release and accumulation
in the fluids, resulting in occupational health hazards in metalworkers
(
2). In modern machine industries, the most commonly used method
to control microbial contamination is the use of chemical biocides.
However, little information is available on evaluation of relative
efficacy of commercial biocides against microbial genera or
species associated with metalworking fluids. Our aim here was
to investigate the potential effectiveness of the commonly used
commercial formaldehyde (HCHO) and nonformaldehyde (non-HCHO)
biocides in metalworking fluids against two widely recognized
bacterial genera of occupational health concern:
Mycobacterium and
Pseudomonas. To our knowledge, this is the first report
to investigate the effect of any biocide against the MWF-associated
Mycobacterium species alone and in the presence of common microbial
cocontaminant
Pseudomonas.

Microorganisms and culture conditions
The MWF isolate
M. immunogenum (ATCC 700506) and a representative
gram-negative organism in MWF,
Pseudomonas fluorescens (ATCC
13525), were used. All experiments were performed with Middlebrook
7H9 (MB7H9) broth and MB7H10 agar (Difco Laboratories, Sparks,
Md.) supplemented with 10% oleic acid-albumin-dextrose-catalase
enrichment medium (BD Biosciences, Sparks, Md.) and 0.5% glycerol.
The bacterial cultures of
M. immunogenum and
P. fluorescens were grown to exponential phase in 40 ml of broth with continuous
shaking (150 rpm) at 37°C for 120 h and at 25°C for
24 h, respectively, to a cell density equivalent to a 120 Klett
reading (10
8 CFU/ml) measured by using a Klett photoelectric
colorimeter (Klett, New York, N.Y.).

Biocides and metalworking fluid
Four commercial biocides were evaluated, including two HCHO-releasing
biocides, Grotan (Troy Chemical Corp., Newark, N.J.) and Bioban
CS 1135 (DOW Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.). The active ingredient
in Grotan is hexahydro-1,3,5-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine
(78.9%). The active ingredient in Bioban is 4,4-dimethyloxazolidine-3,4,4-trimethyloxazolidine
(76%). An isothiazolone group biocide, Kathon 886 MW (Rohm &
Haas Co., Philadelphia, Pa.) with 14.1% 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one
as the active ingredient and a phenolic biocide, Preventol CMK
40 (Bayer Chemicals Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.), with 4-chloro-3-methylphenol
sodium salt (46.13%) as the active ingredient were also tested.
A commercial synthetic metalworking fluid at a commonly used working concentration of 5% (vol/vol) was filter sterilized and used as the test matrix. Saline was used as the control matrix for comparison.

Biocide efficacy test
The efficacy of the four biocides in fluid suspension tests
was studied based on logarithmic reductions in viable counts
of the test organisms at different concentrations of biocides
with various contact times. The log reductions were estimated
by converting initial and posttreatment bacterial counts to
log
10 values and then subtracting the mean of the final log
10 values from the initial log
10 value. The initial log value was
obtained from the mean of the values for the control containing
no biocide.
For both test organisms, the same batch of culture suspension was used in all treatments with a given test biocide to minimize experimental variation. The test organisms were serially diluted to have 108 CFU/ml in MWF and saline matrices. Aliquots (1 ml) of the organisms suspension was placed into 1.5-ml microcentrifuge tubes and treated with individual biocides. Experiments were also conducted with the two organisms in a mixed suspension (1:1). A single biocide at various final concentrations (100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 ppm) was added to test sample and incubated at room temperature for various contact times (15, 30, 45, and 60 min). Survival of the test organisms was determined by taking 100-µl aliquot from each treatment and spread plating on Middlebrook agar, followed by incubation at 37°C for 120 h (M. immunogenum) and 25°C for 24 h (P. fluorescens). For experiments with mixed suspensions of M. immunogenum and P. fluorescens, selective counts for each test organism were obtained by incubating two different sets of Middlebrook agar plates at two different temperatures of incubation, one set at 37°C for M. immunogenum for 120 h and the other set at 25°C for P. fluorescens for 24 h.

Determination of MIC of biocides
The precise MICs were determined from the biocide concentration
range and contact time resulting in 100% kill of test organisms
in the two different matrices (MWF and saline). The MIC represented
the minimum concentration required to attain complete loss of
cultivability of the test organism as determined by spread plating.

Statistical analysis
Log reductions were compared by using analysis of variance by
a mixed model with SAS/STAT software (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary,
N.C.).

Biocidal activity against M. immunogenum
The results represented in Fig.
1 indicate the biocidal activity
of four different biocides against pure suspension of
M. immunogenum in MWF and saline matrices. Log reductions at the highest concentration
(100,000 ppm) of biocides are not included in the figure since
these treatments led to 100% kill of the test organisms at all
contact times.
M. immunogenum showed greater log reductions
when treated with the isothiazolone biocide, Kathon, than with
the other non-HCHO biocide (Preventol) or with either of the
two HCHO biocides (Grotan and Bioban). Kathon was observed to
be significantly (
P < 0.0001) more effective at lowest exposure
time (15 min) with 10,000 ppm biocide concentration, as shown
by a log reduction of

8 as against

2-log reductions observed
with other test biocides (Fig.
1A). There was no significant
(
P = 0.5030) matrix effect (MWF versus saline) on Kathon biocidal
activity toward
M. immunogenum, although there was a difference
in the log reductions in the two matrices. Between the two HCHO
biocides, Grotan was observed to be more effective than Bioban
in MWF, as evidenced by significant differences (
P = 0.0311)
in the log reductions (Fig.
1A). However, there were no significant
log reductions between these two HCHO biocides in saline except
at high concentrations (
P = 0.0234; Fig.
1B). In the presence
of Preventol,
M. immunogenum showed a significantly (
P = 0.0395)
greater log reduction in saline than in MWF (Fig.
1).
As in the pure suspension, Kathon biocide was observed to be
most effective against
M. immunogenum in mixed suspension compared
to other biocides (Fig.
2). At lower biocide concentrations
(100 and 1,000 ppm) with a 15-min exposure time, there were
no significant differences (
P = 0.4195) in cell concentrations
(

2-log reductions) for all four biocides in both matrices (MWF
and saline). However, Kathon was twice as effective at 10,000
ppm as the other biocides in MWF (Fig.
2A). In a comparison
of the HCHO biocides, there was no clear trend in the biocidal
activities of Grotan and Bioban in both MWF and saline matrices.
In contrast, non-HCHO biocides (Kathon and Preventol) were comparable
in saline showing no significant differences (
P = 0.3700; Fig.
2B) in cell concentrations. In general,
M. immunogenum in mixed
suspension showed greater resistance than in pure suspension
to all biocides based on the log reduction of cell concentration.

Biocidal activity against P. fluorescens
The relative susceptibility of
P. fluorescens to the four test
biocides is presented in Fig.
3. The data for 10,000 and 100,000
ppm biocide concentrations and 45 and 60 min exposure times
are not presented because of 100% kill of the test organism
under these conditions.
P. fluorescens was found to be relatively
more susceptible to all test biocides than
M. immunogenum, showing
maximum log reduction (

8) in cell concentration within 15 and/or
30 min contact time (Fig.
3); the corresponding log reduction
value for the cell concentration of
M. immunogenum being

2 (Fig.
1 and
2). In MWF fluid, Kathon was the most effective since
it caused maximum log reduction of cell concentration (

8 logs)
at a minimum biocide concentration (10 ppm) in a 30-min exposure
compared to the other test biocides, which required 1,000 ppm
(Fig.
3A) for this level of inhibition. These differences were
significant (
P < 0.0001). However, in saline, Kathon was
as effective as Bioban and Preventol (

6-log reductions in cell
concentration for each), and this activity was significantly
(
P < 0.0148) higher than that of Grotan (

4-log reduction
in cell concentration; Fig.
3A).
A greater susceptibility of
P. fluorescens to Kathon biocide
was also observed in MWF fluid with mixed suspension (Fig.
3B).
In contrast, Bioban was observed to be more effective in saline
than Kathon and other biocides (Fig.
3B). However, at 1,000
ppm, Preventol was as effective as Bioban, and the differences
in log reduction of cell concentration were not significant
(
P = 0.1008).

MICs of biocides
Based on the MICs,
M. immunogenum was more resistant than
P. fluorescens (Table
1). Among the four biocides, Kathon showed
highest biocidal activity (least MICs) against both test organisms
in MWF fluid. The observed Kathon MICs for pure and mixed suspensions
were 600 and 3,000 ppm for
M. immunogenum and 20 and 100 ppm
for
P. fluorescens, respectively. However, Bioban was very effective
in saline against
P. fluorescens with MICs of 30 and 60 ppm
for pure and mixed suspensions, respectively. In general, the
HCHO biocides (Grotan and Bioban) were least effective (showing
highest MICs) against
M. immunogenum in both fluid matrices,
whereas Grotan and Preventol were least effective (showing highest
MICs) against
P. fluorescens in MWF (Table
1).
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TABLE 1. MICs of biocide for M. immunogenum and P. fluorescens in pure and mixed suspensions treated with biocides in MWF and saline matrices
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Relative resistance of M. immunogenum versus P. fluorescens
Our results show that
M. immunogenum possesses significantly
higher resistance to all biocides, since it requires higher
concentration of biocides or a longer contact time compared
to
Pseudomonas. Mycobacteria have been known for their resistance
against other antimicrobial agents compared to the relatively
more sensitive gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The
hydrophobic, waxy, and impermeable nature of mycobacterial cell
wall, which contains mycolic acids, arabinogalactan and high-molecular-weight
lipids, have been postulated to be responsible for their antimicrobial
resistance (
3). The observed resistance of
Pseudomonas in presence
of the test biocides up to certain concentrations is consistent
with the earlier reports on the biocide resistance of this genus.
For instance,
P. fluorescens has been reported to cause the
deterioration of Grotan BK biocide (
14) as a result of the transformation
of HCHO molecules to formic acid (
20). In another report, Kathon
resistance of
P. fluorescens was ascribed to its ability to
degrade this biocide in sewage waters (
6). Another species of
this genus,
P. aeruginosa, had shown resistance to formaldehyde
and 1,3,5-tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine, which are the active
components of Grotan BK (
20).

Relative efficacy of the test biocides in MWF versus saline
Kathon (Isothiazolone) biocide was observed to be effective
at lower concentrations compared to the other test biocides,
belonging to the HCHO-releasing (Grotan and Bioban) and the
phenolic (Preventol) types. The Kathon efficacy was particularly
more pronounced in MWF compared to saline. Since the isothiazolone
has been reported to be activated in alkaline pH (
17), the prevalence
of high pH in MWF matrix (pH 8 to 10) might have caused an increased
Kathon biocidal activity in MWF compared to saline. The increased
biocidal activity in MWF might also be due to the synergistic
interaction between the biocide and the corrosion inhibitor
component, sodium tolyl triazole, of synthetic metalworking
fluid used in this study (
15).
The relatively greater resistance of M. immunogenum against HCHO-releasing biocides compared to Kathon might be due to the action of mycothiol, a unique thiol compound produced in mycobacteria and actinomycetes, which detoxifies the active component formaldehyde (13). In addition, the hydrophobic and waxy nature of mycobacterial cell wall, which discourages the interaction of formaldehyde and thus provides protection against HCHO biocides (7). However, further studies may be required to prove these phenomena in M. immunogenum. The resistant nature of mycobacteria against biocides was also indicated in earlier studies on hospital hygiene, wherein M. chelonae was found to be resistant to glutaraldehyde and other aldehydes (22). Between the two HCHO biocides used in the present study, Grotan was observed to be more effective than Bioban against M. immunogenum and P. fluorescens in MWF matrix. This could be explained by the fact that Grotan releases three HCHO molecules per molecule on hydrolysis compared to one HCHO molecule from Bioban (4, 19). Both the HCHO-releasing biocides showed appreciable difference in biocidal activity against M. immunogenum and P. fluorescens between MWF and saline matrices, indicating protective effect of the MWF matrix.
Preventol (phenolic) was intermediate, between Kathon (Isothiazolone) and the HCHO biocides (Grotan and Bioban), in biocidal activity against M. immunogenum. However, with P. fluorescens, Preventol was in general less effective than other biocides particularly in MWF. The Preventol results are consistent with the assumption that phenolic biocides are weak in physical interaction with lipophilic components of the bacterial cell wall, and this could be responsible for the observed resistance of M. immunogenum and particularly P. fluorescens to Preventol (11). Phenolic biocides are more active at acid and neutral pH (16), and this could also be one of the reasons for comparatively increased biocidal activity of Preventol in saline (neutral pH) compared to MWF (alkaline pH). However, further investigation is required to prove these possible mechanisms.

Cocontaminant effect
The cocontaminant effect on biocidal activity toward the individual
test organisms was studied with the test organisms in a mixed
suspension (1:1 ratio).
M. immunogenum was found to be more
resistant to both HCHO and non-HCHO biocides in mixed suspension
with
P. fluorescens than in pure suspension, and this was observed
in both the MWF and saline matrices. Three of the four biocidesGrotan
(1.3-fold), Kathon (5-fold), and Preventol (3-fold)showed
various decrease in biocidal activity in mixed bacterial suspensions.
The relative biocidal resistance of
P. fluorescens in mixed
suspension with the tested biocides in either matrix was also
increased, except for Kathon. An increased biocidal resistance
of both
M. immunogenum and
P. fluorescens in mixed suspension
treatment compared to pure suspension treatment suggests a possible
mutual protective mechanism among the microbial communities
in metalworking fluid environment, leading to their enhanced
ability to resist biocide. We used the same number of cells
of both test organisms in the 1:1 mixed suspensions to that
used in experiments with pure suspension. Therefore, the biocide
may have been diluted, distributed, or adsorbed in a differential
manner between the two test organisms. As a result, the actual
concentration of the biocide contacting either organism in mixed
suspension experiments was less than the added concentration,
thereby leading to greater survival or protection from killing.
Interestingly, Bioban showed the increased biocidal activity
against mixed suspension of
P. fluorescens in saline matrix,
the reason for that is not clear.
In conclusion, both mycobacteria and the pseudomonads have the ability to tolerate the biocides albeit to a varying extent. M. immunogenum is significantly more tolerant to the tested biocides. These observations point to the limited usefulness of the commercial biocides commonly applied for microbial control in MWF particularly against mycobacteria. Moreover, it is evident from the collected data that metalworking fluid matrix enhances survival of mycobacteria in presence of biocides at otherwise inhibitory concentrations in other aqueous media such as saline. These observations emphasize the importance of evaluating each commercial biocide against appropriate problem strains of bacteria commonly prevalent in MWF and study the effect of fluid matrix and cocontaminants for such evaluation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by grant 1RO1OH007364 (to J.S.Y.) from
the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Council
for Automotive Research-Environmental Research Consortium (USCAR-ERC)
supported the initial methods optimization part of the study.
We thank Milacron management and the USCAR-ERC for obtaining the commercial biocides from different sources. We further acknowledge Linda Levin, Biostatistics Division, University of Cincinnati, for the help in statistical analysis.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Molecular Toxicology Division, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056. Phone: (513) 558-4806. Fax: (513) 558-4397. E-mail:
Jagjit.Yadav{at}uc.edu.


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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2005, p. 542-546, Vol. 71, No. 1
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.71.1.542-546.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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