[Heat resistance of "Bacillus subtilis" and "Bacillus stearothermophilus" spores in ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and butylene glycol solutions. Criticism of the use of thermodynamic parameters (author's transl)].

Increasing concentrations of ethylene glycol (EG), 1,2-propylene glycol (PG) or 2,3-butylene glycol (BG) lower the heat resistance of B. subtilis SJ2 and B. stearothermophilus 1518 spores, and there is a linear relationship between logarithm of decimal reduction time (D) and glycol concentration. D120 degreesc values of B. subtilis spores in 0.02M, pH 7.0 phosphate buffer containing 20 per cent (w/w) EG, PG and BG are respectively 1, 0.7 and 1.1 min compared to 1.5 min in buffer alone. Corresponding values for B. stearothermophilus spores are 2, 2.4 and 3 min compared to 3.2 min. The type of glycol has little effect upon temperature coefficient z for destruction of the B. subtilis spores (average 6.9 degrees C). On the contrary, in the case of B. stearothermophilus, z increases when the number of carbons increases in the glycol molecule (from 7 to 15 degrees). The thermodynamic parameters which characterize the activation of the spore destruction reaction cannot lead to a general conclusion about a possible mechanism of destruction in the presence of chemical compounds belonging to an homologous series: the two behave diversely, and there is no "isokinetic temperature".