Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Inorganic active ingredient containing – Peroxide or compositions of or releasing gaseous oxygen or...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-29
2003-10-21
Levy, Neil S. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Inorganic active ingredient containing
Peroxide or compositions of or releasing gaseous oxygen or...
C424S405000, C424S406000, C514S557000, C514S558000, C514S559000, C514S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06635286
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process of using peracid compositions mixed with another short-chain fatty acid to treat field, hydroponic or greenhouse growing plant tissue, seeds, fruits, growing media, storage facilities and equipment, and containers. The peracid can lower the natural, plant pathogen and human pathogenic microbial load resulting in less waste to molding, spoilage, and destruction because of pathogenic poisons.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the production of fruits and vegetables, plants can be grown in the field, in greenhouses, and hydroponically. Each location has its own growing medium, environment and growing conditions. Agricultural personnel work to maximize production by maximizing growing conditions while minimizing attack on seeds, seedlings, plants and fruit by living pests. Such pests include insects, rodents, bacteria, fungi, etc.
Substantial attention has been given to antimicrobial compounds that attack bacteria and fungi on seeds, seedlings, growing plants and fruit in the production cycle on growing plants. The use of fungicides in agriculture is necessitated by the great losses caused by a wide variety of plant-pathogenic microorganisms. To be economic, the costs of controlling plant diseases by the application of bactericides and fungicides must be offset by potential gains of several fold. Large tonages of fungicides are required in the agriculture of apples, pears, bananas, cereals, cocoa, coffee, cotton, potatoes, tobacco, grapes, sprouts and other common fruits and vegetables including celery, leeks, onions, lettuce, spinach, brussel sprouts, potatoes, truffles, garlic, shallots, peppers, beans, tomatoes, almonds, pears, apples, peanuts and others. Fungicides are typically applied in water suspension with hydraulic sprayers or in the form of dust, granules or fumigants. Early fungicides included sulfur and polysulfides, heavy metals and others. Such harsh fungicides have been replaced by newer but still toxic materials such as quinones, organosulfur compounds, imidazolines and guanidines, trichloromethylthiocarboximides, chlorinated and nitrated benzenes, oxithines, benzimidazoles, pyrimidines, and others. These broad spectrum protectant materials effect enzyme and membrane systems of the target microorganism. Typically, the mode of action includes inhibition of fungal or bacterial energy production, interference with biosynthesis or disruption of cell membrane structure.
The above fungicides have had some success; however, they are viewed as toxic materials and a substantial quantity of plant produce is wasted due to their deleterious effect.
Further, human and plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi can be a contamination problem in growing plants. We have found coli form, salmonella, and other bacteria common in the agricultural and greenhouse environment can contaminate growing plants and pose a threat to human health in consumption of fresh vegetables, fruit and produce.
Peroxy acids are strong oxidizers and have the simple general structure given as formula (1), where R can be essentially any hydrocarbon group:
Peroxy-containing compositions have been described for use in the production of microbicidal agents. However, very few peroxy systems have addressed protection of growing plants from bacterial contamination. Accordingly, a substantial need exists to develop antimicrobial materials that can be used directly to protect growing plants including seeds, cuttings, seedlings, plant parts, fruit, and other agricultural produce.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have found that a mixed peracid/acid treatment composition can be used to protect growing plant tissue from the undesirable effects of microbial attack. The peracid/acid composition used in this invention can be applied to growing plant tissues and can provide residual antimicrobial effects after the plant has completed its growth cycle, fruit or vegetable material have been harvested and sent to market. The composition of the invention has been found to have excellent antimicrobial effects but poses little toxic effects to agricultural workers or the ultimate consumer.
We have found that peroxy acid/acid compositions can be an effective treatment of living or growing plant tissues including seeds, roots, tubers, seedlings, cuttings, rooting stock, growing plants, produce, fruits and vegetables, etc. Under certain circumstances, a single peroxyacid/acid composition can be effective; however, in other circumstances, a mixed peroxy acid/acid composition has substantially improved and surprising properties.
The invention involves a peroxyacid antimicrobial concentrate and diluted end use composition including an effective microbicidal amount of one or more aliphatic C
2
-C
12
peroxycarboxylic acids and an aliphatic C
3
-C
12
carboxylic acid wherein the mole ratio of aliphatic carboxylic acid to peroxycarboxylic acid is less than about 3:1. The concentrate composition can be diluted with a major proportion of water to form an antimicrobial sanitizing use solution having a pH in the range of about 2 to 8, with a peroxycarboxylic acid concentration of at least about 5 ppm, preferably about 30 to 5000 ppm, and most preferably about 200 to 1000 ppm. Other components may be added such as a hydrotrope coupling agent for solubilizing the peroxyfatty acid in the concentrate form and when the concentrate composition is diluted with water.
The invention involves a method of controlling microbial pathogens on living plant tissue by treating said plant tissue with a dilute aqueous solution containing an effective amount of one or more aliphatic C
2
-C
12
peroxycarboxylic acids and an aliphatic C
3
-C
12
carboxylic acid, wherein the mole ratio of aliphatic carboxylic acid to percarboxylic acid is less than about 3:1.
The invention further involves a method for controlling microbial pathogens on living plant tissue by diluting in an aqueous liquid a concentrate containing: about 0.1 to 25 wt-% of one or more aliphatic C
2
-C
12
peroxycarboxylic acids and about 0.01 to 30 wt-% of an aliphatic C
3
-C
12
carboxylic acid, wherein the mole ratio of aliphatic carboxylic acid to percarboxylic acid is less than about 3:1, to form a solution; and contacting said plant tissue with said solution.
The invention further involves a method for controlling microbial pathogens on living plant tissue by diluting in an aqueous liquid a concentrate containing: about 0.1 to 25 wt-% of one or more C
1
-C
7
aliphatic peroxycarboxylic acids; about 0.01 to 20 wt-% of one or more C
8
-C
12
aliphatic peroxycarboxylic acids; about 0.01 to 30 wt-% of one or more C
3
-C
12
aliphatic carboxylic acid; and about 1 to 30 wt-% of hydrogen peroxide to form a solution, wherein the mole ratio of aliphatic carboxylic acid to percarboxylic acid is less than about 3:1; and contacting said growing plants with said solution.
As the term is used herein, a C
2
-C
12
peroxyacid may be interchangeably used with a C
2
-C
12
aliphatic peroxycarboxylic acid or C
2
-C
12
peracid. These terms are intended to mean the product of the oxidation of a C
2
-C
12
acid such as: a fatty acid, a dicarboxylic acid, a mono- or di-ester dicarboxylic acid, a hydroxy acid, a lactone, a tricarboxylic acid, or a mixture of these acids, to form a peroxyacid or mixture of peroxyacids having from about 2 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. The C
2
-C
12
peroxyacids are straight or branched aliphatic. The C
2
-C
12
peroxyacids can be equilibrium derived, i.e. from a mixture of peracid, its corresponding carboxylic acid and hydrogen peroxide, such as is common for peracetic acid, perglycolic acid, permalonic acid, perlactic acid, peroctanoic acid, perhydroxycaproic acid, perhydroxycaprylic acid, mono-methyl peradipate, mono-methyl persuccinate, mono-methyl perglutarate, mono-ethyl peradipate, mono-ethyl persuccinate, mono-ethyl perglutarate, mono-isobutyl peradipate, mono-isobutyl persuccinate, mono-isobutyl perglutarate, and the like. The C
2
-C
12
peroxyacids can also be isolated peracids such as perheptanoic acid, peroctanoic acid, and p
Hei Robert D. P.
Herdt Brandon Leon
Hilgren John Dennis
Salverda Joy Ann
Ecolab Inc.
Levy Neil S.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
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