Disinfectant
Description
A chemical or physical treatment that inhibits or kills microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoans). By the mid-19th century, disinfectants, such as phenol (carbolic acid) and iodine, were recognized for their ability to reduce infractions. Currently the following major classes of chemical disinfecting compounds are used:
- Heavy metals and their compounds: copper, silver (silver sulfadiazing, silver nitrate), and mercury (merthiolate, mercuric chloride)
- Halogens: iodine (betadine), and chlorine compounds (chlorine gas, sodium sodium hypochlorite, chloramine, hexachlorophene, chlorhexidine)
- Alcohols: ethanol, isopropanol
- Coal tar compounds (cresol, creosote, phenol, phenolics) and pine oil
- Surfactants: both cationic and anionic detergents
- Gas phase disinfectants: ozone, ethylene oxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, chlorine gas
- Ammonia: quaternary ammonia compounds kill gram positive bacteria
- Oxidizers: ozone, ethylene oxide; hydrogen peroxide
- Aldehydes and organic acids: formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, sorbic acid, citric acid, benzoic acid Physical methods of disinfection include:
- Radiation: infrared (heat sterilization) and ultraviolet light (surface only)
- Moist heat: boiling or steam autoclaving
- Pasteurization: heating and cooling cycles
- Filtration: laminar flow fume hoods
- Low Temperature: stops growth but does not kill all spores
- Desiccation: prevents growth and replication but does not kill spores
- Osmotic pressure:
Synonyms and Related Terms
antiseptic; germicide; biocide
Hazards and Safety
Mercury compounds are poisonous. Many antiseptic cause skin irritation.
Authority
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 271
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- A Glossary of Paper Conservation Terms, Margaret Ellis (ed.), Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York City, 1998
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Disinfectant." Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 Sept. 2004 .
- Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
- Website address 1 Comment: swyslwyg://76/htp://mindquest.net/biology/microbiology/outlines/u_cgrwth.html