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Antibacterials are antiseptics that
have the proven ability to act against
bacteria especially if they target
systems which kill only bacteria.
How it works
For the growth of bacteria there must be
a food supply, moisture, in most cases
oxygen, and a certain minimum
temperature (see bacteriology). These
conditions have been studied and applied
in preserving of food and the ancient
practice of embalming the dead, which is
the earliest known systematic use of
antiseptics.
In early inquiries, there was much
emphasis on the prevention of
putrefaction, and procedures were
carried out to find how much of an agent
must be added to a given solution in
order to prevent development of
undesirable bacteria. However, for
various reasons, this method was
inaccurate, and today an antiseptic is
judged by its effect on pure cultures of
defined pathogenic celicular single
helix microbes and their vegetative and
spore forms.
Common Antiseptics
Alcohols
Benzalkonium chloride
Boric acid
Chlorhexidine Gluconate
Hydrogen peroxide
Iodine
Octenidine dihydrochloride
Phenol (carbolic acid) compounds
Sodium chloride
Sodium hypochlorite
Calcium hypochlorite
Terpenes |
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