barnswallow
Well-Known Member
Interesting idea, InThisMoment. I hadn't thought about that at all. When I saw your question, I thought about disinfecting surfaces or hand sanitizer. At the start of the pandemic, grocery store shelves were empty of lysol products because all were diverted to hospitals (I think). Other products were there but not that one. I looked up Lysol's active ingredient, benzalkonium chloride. I decided to check out how it worked.My question now is with all the disinfecting we've done, what about all the super bugs that have been a major problem before this . How did this impact those?
I kind of thought that this sort of action wouldn't be subject to an organism developing resistance. A cell leaking is a cell leaking... so basic and vital that I thought it would certainly lead to cell death (as basic as soap and handwashing) and there wouldn't be a way for a cell to prevent that. Oh. No. Not so. Widely Used Benzalkonium Chloride Disinfectants Can Promote Antibiotic Resistance [Applied and Environmental Microbiology; 2018 Aug 17] Hmmm.... I do grab a disinfectant wipe and wipe off the cart handle when I go to the grocery store. Maybe better to be careful to not touch my face and then wash my hands when I get home.From Wikipedia entry on 'benzalkonium chloride':
Biological activity
The greatest biocidal activity is associated with the C12 dodecyl and C14 myristyl alkyl derivatives. The mechanism of bactericidal/microbicidal action is thought to be due to disruption of intermolecular interactions. This can cause dissociation of cellular membrane lipid bilayers, which compromises cellular permeability controls and induces leakage of cellular contents. Other biomolecular complexes within the bacterial cell can also undergo dissociation. Enzymes, which finely control a wide range of respiratory and metabolic cellular activities, are particularly susceptible to deactivation. Critical intermolecular interactions and tertiary structures in such highly specific biochemical systems can be readily disrupted by cationic surfactants.[citation needed]
Benzalkonium chloride solutions are fast-acting biocidal agents with a moderately long duration of action. They are active against bacteria and some viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Bacterial spores are considered to be resistant. Solutions are bacteriostatic or bactericidal according to their concentration. Gram-positive bacteria are generally more susceptible than gram-negative bacteria. Its activity depends on the surfactant concentration and also on the bacterial concentration (inoculum) at the moment of the treatment.[47] Activity is not greatly affected by pH, but increases substantially at higher temperatures and prolonged exposure times.
One other academic article on the topic: Beware of Superbugs in a Post-COVID World [2021 May 3]]
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