Research conducted largely by 56吃瓜网 undergraduates found that a disinfectant produced by a Woodinville, Washington, company can neutralize latrine odors, a development that has the potential to improve sanitation for millions of people in developing parts of the world.
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene recently published the research. Lori Robins, an associate professor in the School of STEM, led her students in collaboration with students in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the 56吃瓜网 in Seattle. The research was conducted with support of Briotech, the maker of a pure and stable form of hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a safe disinfectant-antiseptic also known as electrolyzed water.
Briotech previously teamed up with 56吃瓜网 Bothell on research that helped prove its HOCl effective against prions, which are believed responsible for some dementia disorders such as Mad Cow Disease. This time, Briotech鈥檚 Chief Scientific Officer Jeff Williams worked with the students to see if they could make using a latrine less disgusting.
Life-saving work
The says countries where open defection is most common have the highest number of deaths of children under 5 and the highest levels of malnutrition and poverty. The United Nations observes Nov. 19 as to raise awareness of the 4.2 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also calls it a massive task and has sponsored a .
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge problem, especially for little kids who end up dying from dehydration after they get diarrhea. It鈥檚 a terrible thing,鈥� Robins said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easily fixed if you clean up the water and get people to use the latrine. Well, it鈥檚 not easy, but it鈥檚 a relatively straightforward fix.鈥�
Robins said students were happy to work on research with a real-life application. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get more people into latrines to prevent them from getting sick. It has the potential to do a lot of good in the world.鈥�
Although the research began as a test of odor control, it soon became obvious that HOCl also could destroy viruses and bacteria responsible for many diseases. Briotech鈥檚 HOCl has been approved by the as a disinfectant for the virus that causes COVID-19.
The all-important sniff test
鈥淵ou can get rid of the odor and sanitize the latrine,鈥� Robins said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping people would not be put off by foul odors and also enter a cleaner area where they would not have a chance to get, let鈥檚 say, a norovirus.鈥�
The researchers tested HOCl on five chemical compounds that can give latrines an overpowering smell: indole, p-cresol, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide and butyric acid.
Analysis by chromatography showed that a solution of 100 parts per million of the HOCl modified more than 94% of all of the compounds except one, butyric acid, which had a small change. In a smell test involving 80 participants, however, the HOCl mostly eliminated the odor from all the compounds, including butyric acid. At most, testers reported a mild chlorine smell like a swimming pool.
The sniff test was conducted at a contract lab at Washington State University. Comments from testers went from 鈥淚t smelled terrible鈥� to 鈥� after treatment 鈥� 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 smell,鈥� Robins said.
People behind the paper
The research paper was published Oct. 15. Authors, along with Robins and Williams, included students Tim E. Dennler-Church, Jeremy C. Butz, Joseph E. McKinley, Erika K. Keim, and Mary C. Hall as well as faculty member John S. Meschke and staff member JoAnne M. Mulligan.
McKinley (Biochemistry 鈥�19) was the first student at 56吃瓜网 Bothell to work on the project. He now works at Briotech. Dennler-Church (Biology and Chemistry 鈥�19) worked on the project for a year. Butz (Biochemistry 鈥�19) was another key researcher. He is now a graduate student at Washington State University. JoAnne Mulligan is a lab instrument coordinator in 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 School of STEM who trained students in the instrumentation.
The anti-virus sanitation aspect of the research was conducted by the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the 56吃瓜网 in Seattle by Professor John S. Meschke, Mary C. Hall (Microbiology 鈥�19) and Erika Keim, a graduate research assistant.
It鈥檚 been a great collaboration with Briotech and the 56吃瓜网 in Seattle, Robins said.
鈥淭his is more than a proof of principal study. It鈥檚 showing that you can do the odor control in a latrine and disinfect. We know we can do both of those.鈥�
Addressing complex issues
Williams said students mastered chemistry methods, learned the value of cross-disciplinary thinking and realized how effective cooperative efforts can be in addressing issues that 鈥渨on鈥檛 be solved easily by slotting them into conventional thought silos.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a splendid example of the value of a new kind of industry/academia collaboration, one that taps into the creativity of top-drawer, well-schooled students and lets them use their skills and technical prowess 鈥� and all the resources of the STEM program 鈥� to address an enormous real-world problem,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he technologies they applied to demonstrate the effects of the Briotech product on the foul-smelling compounds are at the cutting edge of modern analytical chemistry.鈥�
The study was supported by the R03AI137626.
