Antiseptics and Disinfectants – PST05103 Pharmaceutical Microbiology
NTA Level 5 • Semester 1 • PST05103 Antiseptics and Disinfectants Pharmaceutical Microbiology • Source Session/Topic 43 Full source-text version: all educational wording from the extracted learning source is retained; only presenter/tutor metadata and web-layout noise are removed, while formatting is improved for readability. Session 43: Antiseptics and Disinfectants Total Session Time: 120 minutes Pre-requisites • Human anatomy and physiology Students Learning Tasks By the end of this session students are expected to be able to: • List criteria for selection of antiseptics • Explaincriteria for selection of disinfectants • Identify factors affecting action of antiseptics and disinfectants • Describe chemical groups of antiseptics and disinfectants Resources Needed: • Flip charts, marker pens, and masking tape • Black/white board and chalk/whiteboard markers SESSION OVERVIEW |Step |Time |Activity/ |Content | | | |Method | | |1 |5 minutes |Presentation |Introduction, Learning Tasks | |2 | |Presentation |General Properties of Antiseptics | | |15 minutes | |and Disinfectants | |3 |50 minutes |Presentation |Chemical Agents Used as | | | | |Antiseptics and Disinfectants | |4 |20 minutes |Presentation |Factors affecting action of | | | | |antiseptics and disinfectants | |5 |20 minutes | |Criteria for selection of | | | |Presentation |antiseptics and disinfectants | |6 |5 minutes |Presentation |Key Points | | 7|5 minutes |Presentation |Evaluation | SESSION CONTENTS STEP 1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks (5 minutes) READ or ASK students to read the learning tasks and clarify ASK students if they have any questions before continuing STEP 2: General Properties of Antiseptics and Disinfectants (15 minutes) Antiseptics • Antiseptics are chemicals that are applied to animate surfaces (skin, mucous membranes and wounds) to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms • The ideal antiseptic has to have similar properties as an ideal disinfectant • But the primary importance for antiseptics is the selective toxicity o Toxicity to microorganisms but not to human cells • The degree of selectivity of the antiseptic agents can change depending on the tissues they contact • Chemical used as antiseptics have sufficiently low toxicity for host cells that they can be used directly on skin, mucous membranes or wounds • Ideal Characteristics of Antiseptics o They must have adequate antimicrobial activity o The must not be toxic or irritating for skin o Antiseptics are mostly used to reduce the microbial population on the skin before surgery or on the hands to help prevent spread of infection by this route. Antiseptics are often lower concentrations of the agents used for disinfection • Uses of antiseptics o The treatment of skin infections o Prevention of infections in cuts and wounds o Cleaning the skin area of surgery from microorganisms o Prophylaxis and treatment of infections in mucosal areas such as mouth, nose and vagina that are open to environment o As a scrub for surgeons and the medical personnel Disinfectants • Disinfectants are used on inanimate surfaces • They may be the same agents used for antisepsis but at higher concentrations • Ideal characteristics • Should be soluble in various solvent especially water. • Should have high potency. • Should be compatible with organic matters. • Should be stable on storage. o Effective at room temperature o Non-corrosive and nontoxic o Inexpensive STEP 2: Chemical Agents Used as Antiseptics and Disinfectants (50 minutes) • Classes of chemicals used as antiseptics and disinfectants o Alcohols o Acids and Esters o Aldehydes o Biguanides o Halogens o Hydrogen peroxide and peroxygen compounds o Phenols • Alcohols o The aliphatic alcohols (ethanol and isopropanol) are used for disinfection and antisepsis o They are bactericidal against vegetative forms, including Mycobacterium species, but are not sporicidal o Cidal activity drops sharply below 50% concentration o Alcohols have poor penetration of organic matter and their use is therefore restricted to clean conditions o They possess properties such as a cleansing action and volatility, are able to achieve a rapid and large reduction in skin flora and are widely used for skin preparation before injection or other surgical procedures o Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) ▪ Ethanol is widely used as a disinfectant and antiseptic ▪ The presence of water is essential for activity; hence 100% ethanol is ineffective ▪ Concentrations between70% and 90% are best bactericidal and a 70% solution is usually employed for the disinfection of skin, clean instruments or surfaces ▪ At higher concentrations, e.g. 90%, ethanol is also active against most viruses, including HIV ▪ Ethanol is also a used in pharmaceutical preparations and cosmetic products as a solvent and preservative o Isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol, CH3. CHOH.CH3) ▪ Has slightly greater bactericidal activity than ethanol but is also about twice as toxic ▪ It is less active against viruses, particularly nonenveloped viruses, and should be considered a limited-spectrum virucide ▪ Used at concentrations of 60–70%, it is an acceptable alternative to ethanol for preoperative skin treatment and is also employed as a preservative for cosmetics • Aldehydes o Many aldehydes have antimicrobial properties, including sporicidal activity, o Glutaraldehyde (CHO(CH2)3CHO) ▪ It is the most widely used for disinfection ▪ It is a highly effective biocide and it is also used as ‘chemosterilant’ ▪ It has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and rapid rate of kill, most vegetative bacteria being killed within a minute of exposure, although bacterial spores may require 3 hours or more. ▪ It is not affected significantly by organic matter ▪ The glutaraldehyde molecule possesses two aldehyde groupings which are highly reactive and their presence is an important component of biocidal activity ▪ At a pH of 8, biocidal activity is greatest but stability is poor due to polymerization ▪ In contrast, acid solutions are stable but considerably less active ▪ In practice, glutaraldehyde is generally supplied as an acidic 2% or greater aqueous solution, which is stable on prolonged storage ▪ This is then ‘activated’ before use by addition of a suitable alkalizing agent to bring the pH of the solution to its optimum for activity ▪ The activated solution will have