Inactivation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Unattached and Attached to a Solid Surface in pH-Controlled Sodium Hypochlorite Solutions

The inactivation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus cells that were unattached or attached to a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) disc in pH-controlled sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions was studied under turbulent conditions. No significant desorption of attached cells occurred at the free available chlorine (FAC) concentrations from 0.1 to 1.0 mg/l. The number of viable cells was estimated by microbial calorimetry. The logarithmic relative reduction of viable cells was proportional to the product of the FAC concentration and time. In the pH range of 5.6 to 9.3, the first-order inactivation rate constants for unattached and attached cells increased with decreasing solution pH. It was found that the rate constants for unattached cells were approximately 6 to 7 times higher than those for attached cells at all pH values examined. It was confirmed that attached cells were more resistant to NaOCl solutions than unattached cells even when accessibility of attached cells to HOCl/OCl- was enhanced under turbulent conditions.