Antiseptics toxicity

Medicinal creosote is a mixture of phenols, chiefly guaiacol and creosol (4-melhyl-2-meth-oxyphenol), obtained by distillation of wood tar. B.p. 480-500 K. It is almost colourless with a characteristic odour and is a strong antiseptic, less toxic than phenol. 

Both chloramine-T and dichloramine-T have marked antiseptic properties, chloramine-T being most frequently used because of its solubility in water. Aqueous solutions of chloramine-T can be used either for external application, or for internal application to the mouth, throat, etc, as chloramine-T in moderate quantities is non-toxic its aqueous solution can also be effectively used when the skin has come in contact with many of the vesicant liquid poison-gases, as the latter are frequently organic sulphur or arsenic derivatives which combine with or are oxidised by chloramine-T and are thus rendered harmless. 

Sodium trichloroacetate [650-51-17, C2Cl202Na, is used as a herbicide for various grasses and cattails (2). The free acid has been used as an astringent, antiseptic, and polymerisation catalyst. The esters have antimicrobial activity. The oral toxicity of sodium trichloroacetate is quite low (LD q rats, 5.0 g/kg). Although very corrosive to skin, trichloroacetic acid does not have the skin absorption toxicity found with chloroacetic acid (28). 

Whereas tests (186) indicated that ampholytes were effective in skin cleansing for preoperative use, for wound cleansing, and as an antiseptic in the oral cavity (187), as well as other medical appHcations, the food and beverage industries have proved to be the principal employers of these compounds. Ampholytes are used as sanitizers and disinfectants, not as food preservatives. Low toxicity, absence of skin irritation, and noncorrosiveness, along with antimicrobial activity, has given ampholytes acceptance in dairies, meat plants, and the brewing and soft drink industries. These disinfectants have been manufactured and distributed in Europe and Japan, but not in the United States. 

Mice are utilized for testing antiseptics for appHcation to cuts, wounds, and incisions (339). The test bacteria, type 1 pneumococcus and hemolytic streptococcus, ate appHed to the taHs of anaesthetized mice. The tip of the taH is then dipped into the antiseptic for 2 min, after which one-half inch of the taH is removed and inserted into the peritoneal cavity and the incision is closed. If after 10 days the animals survive, the product is considered satisfactory for use as a skin antiseptic. The blood of dead animals is sampled and streaked on blood agar for confirmation of infection from the test bacteria as the cause of death. Since lack of toxicity is another requirement of a product to be appHed to wounds, this test has been combined with a toxicity test (340). 

The most widely known aleohol is ethyl aleohol, simply beeause it is the aleohol in aleoholie drinks. It is also known as grain aleohol, or by its proper name, ethanol. Ethyl aleohol is a eolorless, volatile liquid with a eharaeteristie odor and a pungent taste. It has a flash point of 55°F, is classified as a depressant drug, and is toxic when ingested in large quantities. Its molecular formula is CjHjOH. In addition to its presence in alcoholic beverages, ethyl alcohol has many industrial and medical uses, such as a solvent in many manufacturing processes, as antifreeze, antiseptics, and cosmetics. 

Phenol was the first commercial antiseptic its introduction into hospitals in the 1870s led to a dramatic decrease in deaths from postoperative infections. Its use for this purpose has long since been abandoned because phenol burns exposed tissue, but many modern antiseptics are phenol derivatives. Toluene has largely replaced benzene as a solvent because it is much less toxic. Oxidation of toluene in the body gives benzoic acid, which is readily eliminated and has none of the toxic properties of the oxidation products of benzene. Indeed, benzoic acid or its sodium salt (Na+, C6H5COO ions) is widely used as a preservative in foods and beverages, including fruit juices and soft drinks. 

Phenol is a germicide and disinfectant, and was first used by Lister in 1867 as an antiseptic in medicine. More effective and less toxic antiseptics have since been discovered. 

Boric acid, B(OH) , is a white solid that melts at 171°C. It is toxic to bacteria and many insects as well as humans and has long been used as a mild antiseptic and pesticide. Because the boron atom in B(OH)3 has an incomplete octet, it can act as a Lewis acid and form a bond by accepting a lone pair of electrons from an H20 molecule acting as a Lewis base ... 

As described in section 4.1, the DNA double helix must unwind to allow access ofthe polymerase enzymes to produce two new strands ofDNA. This is facilitated by DNA gyrase, the target of the quinolones. Some agents interfere with the unwinding of the chromosome by physical obstruction. These include the acridine dyes, of which the topical antiseptic proflavine is the most familiar, and the antimalarial acridine, mepacrine. They prevent strand separation by insertion (intercalation) between base pairs from each strand, but exhibit very poor selective toxicity. 

Mercury and silver have long been known to have antibacterial properties and preparations of these metals were among the earliest used antiseptics, but have been replaced by less toxic compounds. Other metals such as zinc, copper, aluminium and tin have weak antibacterial properties but are used in medicine for other functions, e.g. aluminium acetate and zinc sulphate are employed as astringents. 

As is apparent from the above information, there is no ideal disinfectant, antiseptic or preservative. All chemical agents have their limitations either in terms of their antimicrobial activity, resistance to organic matter, stability, incompatibility, irritancy, toxicity or corrosivity. To overcome the limitations of an individual agent, formulations consisting of combinations of agents are available. For example, ethanol has been combined with chlorhexidine and iodine to produce more active preparations. The combination of chlorhexidine and cetrimide is also considered to improve activity. QACs and phenols have been combined with glutaraldehyde so that the same effect can be achieved with lower, less irritant concentrations of glutaraldehyde. Some... 

Over 30 years ago, the three major requirements for an effective intestinal antiseptic were outlined (1) rapid, highly bactericidal activity against gastrointestinal pathogenic organisms, (2) low local and systemic toxicity, and... 

It is unknown whether infants or children are more susceptible than adults to the adverse effects of phenol as stated above, developmental studies are inconclusive. Most of the information available on the toxic effects of phenol in infants and children comes from the use of phenol in medical treatments. Phenol was once used as an antiseptic in wound dressing products and there are several reports of deaths in children and infants following overzealous application of such... 

An effective anesthetic agent must be easy to use, quickly render the patient unconscious, and not produce any toxicity. Dr. William T. G. Morton first publicly demonstrated the use of ether as an effective anesthetic agent at the Massachusetts General Hospital on 16 October 1846 before a crowd of skeptical physicians. Raymundus Lullius, a Spanish chemist, discovered ether (CH3CH2)20 in 1275. Its hypnotic effects were soon appreciated (and enjoyed by some), but for many decades ether was only used to treat the occasional medical ailment. Even with ether, the success of surgical procedures did not improve until the introduction of antiseptic procedures and infection control some 20 years later. Ether was replaced by cyclopropane in 1929, which was replace by halothane in 1956. While anesthetic agents are desirable for the patient, exposure of hospital staff is highly undesirable and an important occupational consideration. 

Pure hexamine may be taken internally by some persons in small amounts and it is used in medicine as a urinary antiseptic, but with some persons jt is toxic. It can also be a skin irritant... 

Phenol is toxic to bacteria and fungi, and it is used as a slimicide and disinfectant. Because of its anesthetic effects, phenol is used in medicines such as ointments, ear and nose drops, cold sore lotions, throat lozenges and sprays (such as those sold under die Cepastat and Chloraseptic labels), and antiseptic lotions (EPA, 2002). 

Disinfectants are strong chemical agents that inhibit or kill microorganisms (Table 50-1). Antiseptics are disinfecting agents with sufficiently low toxicity for host cells that they can be used directly on skin, mucous membranes, or wounds. Sterilants kill both vegetative cells and spores when applied to materials for appropriate times and temperatures. Some of the terms used in this context are defined in Table 50-2. 

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