The bactericidal activity of aqueous disinfectants applied on living tissues

Thirteen antiseptic aqueous solutions intended for the disinfection of living tissues were compared in regard to their microbicidal effectiveness towardsStaphylococcus aureus andPseudomonas aeruginosa. Six antiseptics, which contain boric acid, eosine, hydrogen peroxide or an organic mercury compound as the active substance, did not fulfil the requirements of the preliminaryin vitro test. The seven other preparations were examined in a practical test, in which bactericidal activity was assessed on artificially contaminated intact skin after exposures of 15 s and 60 s. The most active solution appeared to be 0.5% tosylchloramide sodium, followed by 0.05% chlorhexidine with 0.5% cetrimide. The other preparations, namely 0.05% chlorhexidine without cetrimide, 0.245% chloroxylenol, 0.04% clorofene, 10% povidone-iodine and 0.2% tosylchloramide sodium, were less active in this practical test.