Benzalkonium chloride antibacterial activity

Richards RME. Effect of hypromellose on the antibacterial activity of benzalkonium chloride. ] Pharm Pharmacol 1976 28 264. 

The chemical modification of CS biopolymers via reductive amination, to yield alkylated CS derivatives, and further quaternisation result in very efficient antibacterial materials the degree of activity is correlated to the length of the alkyl chain and bacterial strain. The most active CS derivatives are more selective at killing bacteria than the quaternary ammonium disinfectants, cetylpyridinium chloride and benzalkonium chloride, and AMP. Vanillin can be used as a crosslinker of CS nsing this approach, functionalised antimicrobial polymers based on CS, vanillin. Tween 60 and so on may be easily prepared. Imino-CS biopolymer films, prepared by the acid condensation of the amino groups of CS with various aldehydes, can be used as functional biodynamic materials. 

Cationic surface active agents such as benzalkonium chloride and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (Figure 1) have use as antibacterial agents, i.e., disinfectants and antiseptics, and have the advantage that the antimicrobial action is combined with a cleaning action associated with their detergent activity. 

Pereira et al. (2008) reported isolation of rutin 30 (Fig. 2.5) from Solanum palinacanthum Dunal (Solanaceae), a perennial herb common in pastures and roadsides in Brazil, where it has been used to treat skin diseases. Rutin showed low antibacterial activity by broth nticrodilution assays, but the MIC value against Aspergillus ochraceus (35 pg/ml) was similar to that of benzalkonium chloride, the only fungicide nsed in Brazil to control such fungus in coffee beans. 

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