The Effectiveness of Common Disinfectants
This experiment examined the effectiveness of several different disinfectants. More specifically, one chemical and two antibiotics were evaluated for their ability to inhibit bacterial growth. The chemical and antibiotic disinfectants included phenol, oxacillin, and cefotetan, respectively. These were each applied against the bacterial species, Bacillus subtilis. The results were then compared to a control.
The study of disinfection is a relatively new area of research. Although the use of heat--in the form of fire--to destroy the clothes and corpses of diseased persons dates back to biblical and medieval times, the scientific study of sterilizers has largely occurred within the last 150 years (2:3). With the eighteenth century came the age of chemistry. In 1774, the Swedish chemist, Scheele, discovered chlorine. This milestone was subsequently followed in 1789 by French chemist, Bertholet's, discovery of hypochlorites (2:11). Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, numerous additional disinfectants have come to be recognized. These antimicrobial agents may be of several different types. They may include, for example, both chemical and physical (e.g., X-rays, ultraviolet light, etc.) agents. Furthermore, some disinfectants may consist of a combination of different sterilizers (6:29).
For the most part, a disinfectant is an "agent that frees from infection (1:18)." However, Reddish (1957) provides a legal definition for different disinfectants. It is as follows: "An agent that frees from infection; usually a chemical agent that destroys disease germs or other harmful microorganisms or inactivates viruses (1:18)." Obviously, this definition associates sterilization with chemicals. In contrast, the American Public Health Association, the United States Public Health Service, and the British Ministry of Health include physical antimicrobials in the following o...