Detergent contamination, removal

Surfactant solutions with concentrations above the CMC can dissolve considerably larger quantities of organic materials than can pure water or surfactant solutions at concentrations below the CMC. This enhanced solubility is important in apphcations ranging from the formulation of pharmaceutical and personal care products, to detergency, to removal of organic contaminants from wastewaters, soils, and ground water aquifers. 

The practice of corrosion inhibition requires that the inhibitive species should have easy access to the metal surface. Surfaces should therefore be clean and not contaminated by oil, grease, corrosion products, water hardness scales, etc. Furthermore, care should be taken to avoid the presence of deposited solid particles, e.g. stones, swarf, building materials, etc. This ideal state of affairs is often difficult to achieve but there are many cases where less than adequate consideration has been given to the preparation of systems to receive inhibitive treatment. Acid treatments, notably with 3-5% citric acid, with or without associated detergent washes, are often recommended and adopted for cleaning systems prior to inhibition. However, it is not always appreciated that these treatments will not remove particulate material particularly when, as is often the case, the material is insoluble in acids. 

Many commercially available detergents are suitable for this purpose, and some manufacturers market special formulations for cleaning laboratory glassware some of these, e.g. Decon 90 made by Decon Laboratories of Portslade, are claimed to be specially effective in removing contamination due to radioactive materials. 

Petroleum spillages can be removed from water surfaces more efficiently with the following detergent mixture [1692], which contains mainly oxyethyl-ate fatty Cio to C20 alcohols and additional oxyethylated fatty Cn to Cyj acids with an oxyethylene chain length of one to two units. It is used in the form of an aqueous 20% to 25% emulsion, which is sprayed onto a contaminated surface. 

Skin Contact Wash the contaminated skin using soap or mild detergent and water remove the contaminated clothing immediately wash the skin using soap or mild detergent and water if irritation persists after washing, seek medical attention immediately. 

Sample preparation used to extract proteins from cells prior to analysis is an important step that can have an effect on the accuracy and reproducibility of the results. Proteins isolated from bacterial cells will have co-extracted contaminants such as lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids. In addition various organic salts, buffers, detergents, surfactants, and preservatives may have been added to aid in protein extraction or to retain enzymatic or biological activity of the proteins. The presence of these extraneous materials can significantly impede or affect the reproducibility of analysis if they are not removed prior to analysis. 

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