Lignosulfonate and plant extract antimicrobial disinfectant formulation

Overview

This research proposes a novel disinfectant formulation that combines sodium lignosulfonate with a plant extract from Nymphaea odorata (American white water lily) to address the growing challenge of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The overuse of conventional disinfectants and sanitizers, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, has contributed to microbial resistance against standard cleaning agents. By integrating a widely used food-industry preservative with natural antimicrobial phytochemicals, this formulation aims to deliver enhanced cleaning efficacy while maintaining a longer shelf life. The resulting product is designed to function effectively at alkaline pH, broadening its applicability across industrial and institutional cleaning environments.

Technical specifications

Key components and features:

• Sodium lignosulfonate serves as a stabilizing agent, preservative, and adhesive, drawing on its established track record in food-industry applications
• Nymphaea odorata extract provides natural antimicrobial phytochemicals to target resistant bacterial strains
• Alkaline pH compatibility allows the formulation to work in cleaning conditions preferred for many industrial and institutional settings
• Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction will be used to obtain the plant extract, a method that avoids harsh organic solvents and preserves bioactive compounds
• Optimized ratio of lignosulfonate to plant extract determined through functional and physicochemical testing
• Particle size analysis via dynamic light scattering to ensure formulation consistency
• Comprehensive evaluation including turbidity, color, antimicrobial activity, foaming properties, and irritant potential (zein value)
• Broad-spectrum testing against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive multidrug-resistant species

Technology readiness level

This research is at an early-to-mid stage of development. The hypothesis is grounded in established applications of sodium lignosulfonate as a food-industry preservative and the known antimicrobial properties of plant-derived phytochemicals. Future validation will involve supercritical CO2 extraction of the plant material, optimization of ingredient ratios, and a full suite of physicochemical and antimicrobial tests. The project is positioned at a pre-commercial research stage, with next steps focused on laboratory formulation, characterization, and efficacy validation against multidrug-resistant organisms before any scale-up or regulatory considerations.