ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF CHLORINE AND ALCOHOL DISINFECTANTS

ABSTRACT: This study was carried out on the antimicrobial properties of chlorine and alcohol disinfectants. Disinfectant solutions were pre-pared according to manufacturers’ instructions and tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Streptococcus mutans NCTC1044, Candida albicans ATCC 90028, Bacillus subtilis ATCC15244 spores, Mycobacterium tuberculosis ATCC 25177, My-cobacterium avium subsp. avium ATCC 25291 and HepatitisB virus using the Standard quantitative suspension test. The shelf-lives of the disinfectants were also determined. The results showed that both disinfectants killed all the test organisms within 30 seconds. B. subtilis spores were killed in 2 and2.5 minutes by chlorine dioxide and sodium dichloroisocya-nurate respectively. When diluted solutions of these disinfectants were stored in screw cap bottles, they retained their activity for at least 30 days. The study concluded that Chlorine dioxide and sodium dichloroiso-cyanurate containing disinfectants can be used in the dental settings for surfaces and heat sensitive instruments. However, chlorine dioxide is advantageous because it is non-corrosive and the effective concentration is lower than that recommended for sodium dichloroisocyanurate.