A cleaning composition and uses thereof comprising an aqueous-based gel carrier with a pH range of 5.0-10.0 to remove organic matter from medical devices is described. The gel carrier is infused with viable Bacillus subtilis to enzymatically remove organic matter in a short period of time.

An antimicrobial composition containing a wasp extract, and more particularly, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial composition containing, as an active ingredient, an ethyl acetate fraction recovered by sequential organic solvent fraction of an ethanol extract of Vespa velutina nigrithorax or Vespa simillima simillima Smith. The Vespa velutina nigrithorax extract or the V. simillima simillima Smith extract exhibits excellent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacterial and fungi, and thus may be used for pharmaceutical compositions, health functional foods, cosmetic compositions, animal feed compositions, additives for food, cosmetics or animal feed, various detergents and various cleansers. In addition, the extract has excellent heat stability, and does not lose its activity even under an acidic condition of pH 2.

An antimicrobial composition containing a wasp extract, and more particularly, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial composition containing, as an active ingredient, an ethyl acetate fraction recovered by sequential organic solvent fraction of an ethanol extract of Vespa velutina nigrithorax or Vespa simillima simillima Smith. The Vespa velutina nigrithorax extract or the V. simillima simillima Smith extract exhibits excellent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacterial and fungi, and thus may be used for pharmaceutical compositions, health functional foods, cosmetic compositions, animal feed compositions, additives for food, cosmetics or animal feed, various detergents and various cleansers. In addition, the extract has excellent heat stability, and does not lose its activity even under an acidic condition of pH 2.

A cleaning composition including from about 5% to about 25% by weight of the composition of a hydrogen peroxide source; from 1% to about 10% by weight of the composition of a bleach activator; from about 1×10.sup.2 to about 1×10.sup.11 CFU/g of bacterial spores; and wherein the composition has a pH of from 9.5 to 11.5 as measured in 1% weight/volume aqueous solution in distilled water at 20° C.

A method of depositing bacterial spores on a moisture-wicking synthetic fabric, includes contacting the fabric with an aqueous liquor comprising at least 1×10.sup.2 CFU/l of the aqueous liquor, of bacterial spores wherein the aqueous liquor is substantially free of fabric conditioning agent.

A method of facilitating stain removal from a fabric including treating the fabric directly with bacterial spores prior to a laundry process; and subsequently subjecting the fabric to a laundry process.

Surfactants based on a newly discovered class of compounds include a hydrophobic lipid oligomer covalently linked to a peptide or peptide-like chain and a carbohydrate moiety, and a serine-leucinol dipeptide linked to the lipid oligomer. Such surfactants can be used to create an oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion by mixing together a polar component; a non-polar component; and the surfactant. Biosurfactants of the newly discovered class can be made by isolating and culturing a microorganism which produces the biosurfactant, and then isolating the biosurfactant from the culture. A microorganism can be engineered to produce biosurfactant of this newly discovered class by expressing a set of heterologous genes involved in the biosynthesis of the biosurfactant in the microorganism.

The invention provides an aqueous microbial cleaning composition having excellent storage and germination properties, comprising bacterial spores and alkyl polyglucosides or sodium lauryl ether sulfates.

The invention relates to solidification of liquid amine oxide, betaine, and/or sultaine surfactants with a binder to form a solidified surfactant composition. In particular, the invention relates to solidification of liquid surfactants utilizing drying device(s), wherein the feed composition contains at least one liquid surfactant and a binder and optional carrier to form a solidified surfactant composition. The solidified surfactant compositions can be useful in various cleaning compositions.

The invention relates to solidification of liquid amine oxide, betaine, and/or sultaine surfactants with a binder to form a solidified surfactant composition. In particular, the invention relates to solidification of liquid surfactants utilizing drying device(s), wherein the feed composition contains at least one liquid surfactant and a binder and optional carrier to form a solidified surfactant composition. The solidified surfactant compositions can be useful in various cleaning compositions.