Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Clinical Feature
  • Published:

Sanitized corncob bedding: destruction of murine parvovirus

Lab Animal volume 46, pages 95–96 (2017)Cite this article

Ground corncob is a type of cage bedding commonly used in animal facilities. Since corncob bedding is an agricultural product, it has the potential for contamination from exogenous microbes. Contaminants, such as coliforms, may affect the health of the rodents and could lead to subtle interference of research results1. For these reasons, bedding material must be assured for the absence of pathogens.

Corncob products can be autoclaved to ensure they are pathogen free. However, the autoclaving process involves personnel labor time, which can be a budgetary burden. An autoclave may also fail to reach the required temperature and pressure in order to effectively sanitize the bedding; therefore, monitoring with a biological indicator is necessary. A novel approach is the use of chemically sanitized corncob. To produce sanitized corncob bedding, FDA-defined Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) sanitizing agents are sprayed onto the bedding followed by heat to eliminate contaminating microorganisms. The FDA assigns GRAS agents as substances not known to be hazardous to health and thus approved for use in foods2. The sanitizing agents are dissipated during the thermal process used for drying the corncob particles.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Domer, D.A., Erickson, R.L., Petty, J.M., Bergdall, V.K., Hickman-Davis, JM. Processing and treatment of corncob bedding affects cage-change frequency for C57BL/6 mice. J. Am Assoc. Lab. Anim. Sci. 51 (2), 162–169 (2012).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR. Part 170 – Food Additives (2016).

  3. Yang F.C., Paturzo F.X., Jacoby R.O. Environmental stability and transmission of rat virus. Lab. Anim. Sci. 45 (2), 140–144 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Jacoby, R.O., Johnson, E.A., Ball-Goodrich, L., Smith, A.L., McKisic, M.D. Characterization of mouse parvovirus infection by in situ hybridization. J. Virol. 69, 3915–3919 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Wood, A, Payne, D. The action of three antiseptics/disinfectants against enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. J. Hosp Infect. 38, 283–295 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

    Rigoberto Sanchez, Matthew C Terzi, Michelle Izuka, E. Douglas Allen, Michael O'Donnoghue, Kelly Yachera & Louis DeTolla

  2. Cascades Biosciences Consultants, Inc. Sisters, OR

    David Johnson

  3. Iowa State University, Ames, IA

    Aubrey Mendonca

Authors
  1. Rigoberto Sanchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Matthew C Terzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michelle Izuka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. E. Douglas Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Michael O'Donnoghue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Aubrey Mendonca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kelly Yachera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Louis DeTolla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Johnson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare competing financial interests. This study was supported in part by the Green Pet Products, Inc., of which PureLite™ is a registered trademark.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sanchez, R., Johnson, D., Terzi, M. et al. Sanitized corncob bedding: destruction of murine parvovirus. Lab Anim 46, 95–96 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1226

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1226

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing