Electrolysis apparatus and washing procedures.

<p>(A) A schematic of the electrolysis apparatus: The apparatus consists of two wells separated by an electrolytic diaphragm. Anode and cathode plates were installed in the separate wells. Electrolyzed acidic and alkaline water were obtained from the anode and cathode wells, respectively. (B) Time schedules of washing procedures: Procedure 1 was used to determine the removal efficacy of bacteria, fungus and prions. Procedure 2 was used to evaluate the bacterial and fungal removal efficacy of procedure 1. Alkaline and acidic water steps were performed sequentially for 3 (Procedure 1), or 6 min (Procedure 2) each. The black box represents sonication. W: water. (C) Photographs of a rigid endoscope (502-457-030, Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI, USA) washed 10 (upper), 150 (middle) and 300 times (bottom) using procedure 1. The photographs are of the distal end of endoscopes before (left) and after washing (right).</p

Number of cylinders still harboring culturable bacteria following treatments with unelectrolyzed water control.

<p>Number of cylinders still harboring culturable bacteria following treatments with unelectrolyzed water control.</p

The new washing procedure can inactivate prions.

<p>Kaplan–Meier survival analysis of wire-implanted Ki-ChM mice. The statistical significances were evaluated using log-rank test.</p

Existence of PrP^Sc in brain homogenates.

<p>PK-treated (PK+) and–untreated (PK-) brain homogenates from sCJD patient were loaded at concentrations of 40 and 20 μg of protein per lane onto a 15% polyacrylamide gel and subjected to SDS-PAGE. The proteins were detected by western blotting using anti-PrP antibody, SAF61.</p

Evaluation of wash procedure efficacy by PrP^Sc detection in mice study.

<p>The proteins of PK-treated (PK+) and–untreated (PK-) brain homogenates from mice were detected by western blotting using anti-PrP (SAF61) and β-actin antibodies. The numbers above indicate the survival times or the dates when the mice were killed in days post-inoculation with prion or implants with wires.</p

Number of cylinders still harboring culturable bacteria following treatments with electrolyzed alkaline and/or acidic water.

<p>Number of cylinders still harboring culturable bacteria following treatments with electrolyzed alkaline and/or acidic water.</p