ES-TA Technology Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore.
Singapore Institute of Technology, Food, Chemical and Biotechnology Cluster, Singapore, Singapore.
PLoS One. 2023 Mar 27;18(3):e0282005. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282005. eCollection 2023.
The use of alcohol-based sanitizers has been recommended as an effective alternative to clean hands, especially in the case when hand washing is not doable. This is especially critical with the COVID-19 pandemic, where personal hygiene is an important factor to deter the spread of the virus. This study assesses and evaluates the differences in antibacterial efficacy and functionalities of five different commercial alcohol-based sanitizers with different formulations. All sanitizers were able to provide instant sanitization functionality, effectively killing 5x105 CFU/mL of inoculated bacteria. However, comparing pure alcohol-based sanitizers against alcohol-based sanitizers with a secondary active ingredient demonstrated that the addition of a secondary active ingredient enhanced the effectiveness and functionalities of the sanitizers. Alcohol-based sanitizers with secondary active ingredients demonstrated a more rapid antimicrobial mode of action, eradicating all 106 CFU/mL of bacteria within 15 seconds of contact, in contrast to the 30 min for purely alcohol-based sanitizers. The secondary active ingredient also provided additional anti-biofilm functionality to prevent opportunistic microbes from attaching and proliferating on the treated surface, leading to serious biofilm formation. On top of that, treatment of surfaces with alcohol-based sanitizers with secondary active ingredients also imparted prolonged antimicrobial protection to the surface lasting up to 24 h. On the other hand, purely alcohol-based sanitizers do not seem to possess such quality with the treated surface being vulnerable to microbial contamination within minutes after application. These results highlighted the benefits of adding a secondary active ingredient in sanitizer formulation. However, care needs to be taken to evaluate the type and concentration of antimicrobial agents chosen as the secondary active ingredient.
含酒精的洗手液已被推荐为清洁双手的有效替代方法，尤其是在无法洗手的情况下。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，个人卫生是阻止病毒传播的重要因素，这一点尤为关键。本研究评估和比较了五种不同配方的商业含酒精洗手液在抗菌功效和功能方面的差异。所有洗手液都能立即提供消毒功能，有效杀灭接种的 5x105 CFU/mL 细菌。然而，将纯酒精洗手液与含有次要活性成分的酒精洗手液进行比较表明，添加次要活性成分增强了洗手液的功效和功能。含有次要活性成分的酒精洗手液表现出更快的抗菌作用模式，在接触 15 秒内就能消灭所有 106 CFU/mL 的细菌，而纯酒精洗手液则需要 30 分钟。次要活性成分还提供了额外的抗生物膜功能，可以防止机会性微生物附着和在处理过的表面上繁殖，从而导致严重的生物膜形成。此外，用含有次要活性成分的酒精洗手液处理表面还能为表面提供长达 24 小时的持久抗菌保护。另一方面，纯酒精洗手液似乎没有这种特性，处理过的表面在应用后几分钟内就容易受到微生物污染。这些结果突出了在洗手液配方中添加次要活性成分的好处。然而，需要注意的是，需要评估所选抗菌剂的类型和浓度作为次要活性成分。
