acceptance criteria in the validation of vphp decontamination
TRANSCRIPT
Acceptance Criteria In the Validation of VPHP Decontamination
Dr. James E. Akers
A3P 22nd Congress, October 2010.
Isolator’s have been subjected to antimicrobial treatments to destroy
environmental contamination since their introduction to the
pharmaceutical industry in the 1980’s.
Initially, Peracetic acid/H2O2 was the sporicidal chemical used, but it was
replaced by Vapor Phase Hydrogen Peroxide (VPHP) in the early 1990’s.
Currently, almost all isolators for product testing or production are
“decontaminated” with VPHP.
The majority of firms define success in decontamination as the complete
kill of BI’s with a population of 106 G. stearothermophilus spores.
Occasionally, an unexpected BI positive occurs which is deemed a failure
and this has been deemed the result of “Rogue” BI’s.
In the early years after isolator introduction the sporicidal
treatment of isolators was called “sterilization”.
Some regulators argued that sterilization of isolators was not
a reasonable objective.
Many surfaces inside an isolator are not easily treated with
VPHP.
Experience has shown that penetration of VPHP is limited.
Although named decontamination, the process validation
looks very much like sterilization.
It has become a standard expectation that biological indicators must always
have a population of 106.
This is most likely because inspectors or auditors perceived some kind of
linkage between the SAL of 10-6 and a BI population of 106.
Unfortunately, this idea is scientifically incorrect!
It is not necessary to use a BI with a population of 10-6 to prove a SAL of 10-
6.
In fact neither 10-6 nor 106 have anything to do with the attribute of sterility.
106 spore population has even less significance in the decontamination of
isolators.
Why 10-6 as a target
SAL?• It is important to consider that SAL and sterility are two
distinctly different things.
• Also, a “6 log spore reduction” and complete kill of a BI with a
population of 106 are two very different concepts.
• There is NO probability associated with the attribute of sterlity-
a material is either sterile or it isn’t.
• A SAL (or more accurately probability of non-sterility) of one in
a million is a measure of acceptable RISK.
• Because sterility is not the target in isolator decontamination
the risk based concept of SAL does not (or should not) matter.
To summarize this section 10-6 SAL is a measure
of acceptable risk. 106 as a spore population on
BI’s has nothing to do with a 10-6 SAL . It has
never been suggested that isolators SHOULD or
MUST have a 10-6 SAL, which would be impossible
to prove anyway!! Decontamination is not
sterilization!!
So, with these facts in mind why do we stipulate
that BI’s used in isolator decontamination must
have a population of 106?
Does the requirement for BI’s with a population of
106 play a role in the so-called “Rogue” BI?
BIs are meant to challenge sterilization processes or to evaluate the
efficacy of a sporicide.
BIs were never intended to provide the central design criterion for
sterilization processes.
In sterilization process design the user should define how much
lethality is necessary for their process
BIs are biological evaluation that such lethality has been delivered.
Unfortunately- in the case of VPHP there is no standard definition of
lethality.
In steam sterilization we have defined BIER conditions and a
standard measure of lethality the Fo.
BIER=Biological Indicator Evaluation Resistometer.
The lethality value of Fo= 1 minute of heating at 121oC (which is
the metric conversion of 250oF, the temp. of steam at 15 PSIG.)
The BIER standards allow us to define process D and Z values.
The D value is the time required to achieve a one spore log
reduction at defined processing conditions.
Z value is a measure of rate of change of D value as kill
conditions change (in moist heat this means temperature).
110 103 154.5
115 32.6 49
118 16.3 24.5
121 8.2 12.3
124 4.1 6.2
D is defined relative to process temperature i.e. D121.
Process challenge is a product of D value x time.
A process with a lethality of 12 minutes could be evaluated with: a BI with a
population of 104 and a D121 of 3 minutes or a BI with a population of 106 and a
D121 of 2 minutes.
It both examples you would expect statistically 63% of the Bis to be positive.
The challenge afforded by both of these BIs is exactly the same! Thus, both
SHOULD be equally suitable for validation purposes! (reference USP <1211>)
It is only regulatory and compliance convention that limits BI selection to those
with a population of 106 scientifically 103 or 104 could for most processes work just
as well.
VPHP and D Value and
Determination• There are no standard conditions for the evaluation of VPHP
BI’s- BIER conditions have not been defined.
• The multifactoral nature of VPHP processing means that
BIER conditions are difficult to define.
• Therefore, none of the BI manufacturer supplied D values are
tested against a recognized standardized set of conditions.
• In VPHP “D-values” are most properly considered measures
of relative resistance.
• D values are only roughly comparable only to other lots tested
by the same manufacturer under the same conditions.
D values and BI Spore
Population
• There should be no observable change in D value with respect to increasing or
decreasing spore population on a BI.
• This is true of BI’s for dry heat and moist heat and is common to chemical and radiation
sterilization as well.
• The survivor curve should be log linear to r> 0.95.
• BI kill in VPHP is single hit or first order kinetics.
• Many VPHP BI survivor curves I have seen or personally analyzed do not follow first order
kinetics and are not log linear
• Non-linear survivor curves are indicative of multiple rates of reaction- this most probably
correlates to issues relating to the BI and spores being “accessible” to VPHP.
• Studies have shown that D value in VPHP processes can vary with respect to spore
population on BI’s.
Unusual BI performance
• Is is common to use 30-100 BI’s in VPHP decontamination
trails.
• It is not uncommon to hear of reports of three such tests being
done with only one or perhaps two positives.
• Repeat tests find that kill is observed reproducibly at the site
of a positive BI.
• In many tests several BI’s have been placed at a positive
location and all of these test BI’s are killed.
• These observations led to the term “rogue” BI!
Bacillus spores 106
SEM 4000x
Solid plastic coupon
G. stearothermophilus
105 population
Stainless Coupon
SEM 8000X
Typical Clump
Likely factors in extreme
BI resistance• BI agglomeration or clumping- this may protect spores in the
center of a clump resulting in slow or no kill.
• In BI’s deposited on solid surfaces hundreds of clumps both large
and small may form.
• We have also seen in our studies that spore preparations that
have high levels of residual media or salts can be abnormally
resistant.
• Reports indicate that in some cases resistance can be 100 fold
higher than the mean value for a population.
• We have found that high levels of biomass can also result in the
appearance of extreme resistance of some mold to VPHP
Are super resistant BI’s
indicative of failure?• No! They are more likely the result of a misplaced focus on
106 BI populations.
• This is probably a result of an over emphasis placed upon the
creation of “worst case” conditions.
• Also, it relates to a misunderstanding regarding the
“relationship” between 106 and 10-6 “SAL”- actually there is
NO relationship.
• It is appropriate to carefully consider what we are trying to
prove in the validation of VPHP decontamination.
The purpose of VPHP treatment is to eliminate bioburden
In 20 years of isolator testing experience has shown that
bioburden is typically <20cfu/25cm2 on isolator surfaces.
The typical bioburden is also much less resistant than G.
stearothermophilus spores.
It is necessary to kill each organism only once!
Extreme worst case conditions do not reduce risk and do not
really accomplish enhanced product safety.
Therefore it is not necessary to overreact to rare BI positives.
Avoiding the problem
• It should be possible to use 103 or 104 BI’s, even where parts
hoppers are treated during decontamination.
• Most guidelines on isolator decontamination require a 4 to 6
“spore log reduction”
• This is a very different thing than complete kill of a BI with a
population of 106 spores.
Summary
• Super resistant BI’s are not “Rogues”, the occur naturally for predictable reasons.
• These super resistant BI’s are not the result of a genetic phenomenon and have
nothing to do with worst case.
• Super resistant BI’s do not indicate high process or product risk.
• They are instead the result of over-aggressive and unnatural test conditions.
• There is nothing magical, scientifically special, or statistically meaningful about a
106 spore population.
• It is possible to use lower concentration BI’s to reduce the likelihood of clumping.
• Decontamination is to eliminate bioburden which in cleaned isolators is very low.
• It is necessary to kill each bioburden organism only one time!