[Evaluation of bactericidal activity of antiseptics on the cutaneous flora of holoxenic hairless mouse].

Holoxenic Hairless mice were used in an experimental model to study the in vivo bactericidal activity of several antiseptics. In these experiments skin was sampled by biopsy; after contact between antiseptic and skin, bactericidal activity was neutralized. The results obtained with several products (polyvinylpyrrolidone iodine, alcoholic iodine, ethanol, chlorhexidin, benzalkonium chloride, mercurothiolic acid, trichlorocarbanilid and hexachlorophen) were quite similar to those obtained on human skin. The differences must be related to the composition of the Hairless mouse skin flora which contains Staphylococcus xylosus, Micrococcus sp. and Streptococcus faecalis, but does not contain Corynebacterium sp. or Propionibacterium sp.