Bactericidal activity of chloroxylenol in aqueous solutions of cetomacrogol

Abstract

The bactericidal activity of chloroxylenol in water and in solutions of the non‐ionic surface‐active agent cetomacrogol is shown to be related to the degree of saturation of the system, expressed as a Saturation Ratio, which is the ratio of the amount of chloroxylenol present to its solubility. A saturated solution of chloroxylenol in water is shown to have the same bactericidal activity as saturated surfactant solutions containing up to 100 times as much chloroxylenol. It is apparent that bactericidal activity depends on the amount of chloroxylenol in the true aqueous “phase” and not the total amount present. The bactericidal activity of undersaturated solutions of chloroxylenol in cetomacrogol falls markedly as the Saturation Ratio is reduced. This is attributed to a change in the distribution of chloroxylenol in favour of the micelles where it is apparently without bactericidal activity.

Physicochemical factors affecting the rapid bactericidal efficacy of the phenolic antibacterial triclosan

“…Allawala and Reigelman showed that a governing factor of efficacy of a phenolic agent in surfactant solution was the % saturation of the phenolic (which is an index of its thermodynamic activity) in the solution, and not simply its total concentration; the two can be very different depending on the mode of solubilization. Mitchell [5] extended this approach to chloroxylenol, a phenolic biocide. Mitchell showed that a saturated solution of chloroxylenol in water had the same bactericidal activity as saturated surfactant solutions of chloroxylenol containing up to 100-fold greater amounts of the biocide.…”

Relationships between Estimates of Binding of Antimicrobial Agents by Macromolecules, based on Physicochemical and Microbiological Data: Cetylpyridinium Chloride and Polyethylene Glycol

“…Bean & Berry (1948, 1951, however, claimed that the bactericidal activity of benzylchlorophenol in aqueous solutions of potassium laurate was related to the concentration of the benzylchlorophenol in the micelles of potassium laurate and was independent of the overall concentration in the solution. Mitchell (1964) found the bactericidal activity of chloroxylenol in water and in solutions of the nonionic surface active agent cetomacrogol to be dependent on the degree of saturation of the system expressed as a saturation ratio i.e. the ratio of the amount of dissolved chloroxylenol present to its saturation solubility.…”

“…the ratio of the amount of dissolved chloroxylenol present to its saturation solubility. The work of Bean & Berry (1948, 1951, Pisano & Kostenbauder (1959) and Mitchell (1964), suffers from the imprecision associated with determinations based on quanta1 data and also, in the case of the last, that binding data were estimated from microbiological measurements in systems where other ingredients might interfere with the degree of binding.…”

Influence of Polyethylene Glycols on the Hemolytic Activity of Phenolic Preservatives

“…UMEROUS reports have appeared in recent N years concerning the inactivation of various antibacterial preservatives when in the presence of pharmaceutically employed materials such as vegetable gums (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) and nonionic surfactants (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Several of these studies have included data and hypotheses on the nature of the interactions between phenolic compounds and polymers, as polyethylene glycol and polysorbate 80 (13-15).…”

“…Several of these studies have included data and hypotheses on the nature of the interactions between phenolic compounds and polymers, as polyethylene glycol and polysorbate 80 (13-15). Such interactions have resulted in pharmaceutical incompatibilities (19,20) or in the reduction of antibacterial activity (17,21,22). In view of the possibility of preservative interactions with other formulative materials, it is recognized that chemical assays of preservative concentration may not always be a true measure of effective antimicrobial concentration (22).…”