Alcohol disinfectant

The most commonly used alcohol disinfectants are ethanol and isopropanol, which can freeze proteins and cause pathogen death. Alcohol disinfectants are intermediate-level disinfectants that can kill bacterial propagules and destroy lipophilic viruses such as herpes simplex virus, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus. The usual concentration of ethanol is 75%, and the usual concentration of isopropanol is 70%.

Medical alcohol refers to alcohol used in medicine. Medical alcohol has a variety of purity, the common ones are 95% and 75%. Excessive concentration of alcohol will form a protective film on the surface of the bacteria, preventing it from entering the bacteria, and it is difficult to completely kill the bacteria. If the alcohol concentration is too low, although it can enter the bacteria, the protein in the body cannot be solidified, and the bacteria cannot be completely killed.
Therefore, the use of 70% to 75% alcohol can not only coagulate the proteins that make up bacteria, but also not form an envelope, and allow the alcohol to continue to penetrate into the interior, making it thoroughly disinfected.
To denature proteins, it is necessary to stretch and relax the curled and spiral protein molecules. The key is to destroy the various forces that form the curls and spirals. The alcohol molecule has two ends. One end is hydrophobic (one C2H5), which can destroy the attractive force between the hydrophobic groups inside the protein. One end is hydrophilic (one OH), but it is difficult to destroy the hydrophilicity of the protein outside. Attraction between groups. on the other hand. Although the water molecule can relax the attraction between the hydrophilic groups of the protein, even if it penetrates into the bacteria, it cannot destroy the attraction between the hydrophobic groups in the protein. Therefore, pure alcohol or water is not sufficient to denature proteins in bacteria. Only when alcohol and water coexist, and at the same time relax the attractive forces that maintain the protein geometry, the protein will lose its physiological activity. Therefore, only a certain concentration of alcohol solution can achieve a good disinfection purpose.
Q: How should I disinfect my hands when I am out of the house without soap and water?
A: You can use a disposable hand sanitizer containing more than 60% ethanol (alcohol).
Note: Chlorhexidine (chlorhexidine) cannot effectively inactivate the virus. Chlorhexidine is also an bacteriostatic ingredient that the FDA prohibits from adding in daily cleaning products. Please check the effective ingredients before purchasing no-wash hand sanitizer
In recent years, a variety of complex alcohol disinfectants have been developed at home and abroad, and these products are mostly used for disinfecting the skin of the hands.