Patricia L. Altieri

Biological assay of proteolytic enzymes capable of debriding third degree burn eschars.

Summary A semi-quantitative bioassay has been described for determining the ability of proteolytic enzymes to debride third degree burn eschars on guinea pigs. With the aid of statistical designs, body weight and site of application were established as the 2 most important experimental variables. Trypsin, a highly purified mold enzyme, and 2 proteinase preparations from C. histolyticum have been compared for their ability to debride contact burns. pHisoHex was found to inhibit the 0-22% proteinases.

Freeze-drying various attenuated strains of Pasteurella pestis.

A method is described for the preparation of freeze-dried living attenuated Pasteurella pestis organisms in a medium suitable for the development of a vaccine for human use. Viability recovery rates of 50% or greater were obtained with the attenuated strains of P. pestis when concentrates prepared from organisms harvested after 28-hr incubation were suspended in a sucrose-phosphate-glutamate solution containing 2.5% human serum albumin and freeze-dried. The freeze-dried organisms demonstrated no loss in viability after storage for 1 year at −20 °C.