Sporicidal characteristics of heated dolomite powder against Bacillus subtilis spores

Dolomite is a double salt composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and magnesium carbonate (MgCO3). The heat treatment of CaCO3 and MgCO3 respectively generates calcium oxide (CaO) and magnesium oxide (MgO), which have antimicrobial activity. In this study, heated dolomite powder (HDP) slurry was investigated for its sporicidal activity against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 spores. The B. subtilis spores used in this study were not affected by acidic (pH 1) or alkaline (pH 13) conditions, indicating that they were highly resistant. However, dolomite powder heated to 1000℃ for 1 h could kill B. subtilis spores, even at pH 12.7. Sporicidal activity was only apparent when the dolomite powder was heated to 800℃ or higher, and sporicidal activity increased with increases in the heating temperature. This temperature corresponded to that of the generation of CaO. We determined that MgO did not contribute to the sporicidal activity of HDP. To elucidate the sporicidal mechanism of the HDP against B. subtilis spores, the generation of active oxygen from HDP slurry was examined by chemiluminescence analysis. The generation of active oxygen increased when the HDP slurry concentration rose. The results suggested that, in addition to its alkalinity, the active oxygen species generated from HDP were associated with sporicidal activity.