In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Meaning of Antimicrobial Action 2. Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Action 3. Effects on on Microbial Cells. Meaning of Antimicrobial Action: Microorganisms can be killed, eliminated or inhibited by a number of physical, chemical and other means. All these agents which act against the microbes are called ‘Antimicrobial agents'. Varieties of microorganisms differ greatly [...]
The disinfection process does not take place at once but is a gradual operation in which the number of organisms killed in unit time is greater at the beginning and becomes less and less as the exposure period is increased. If the numbers of survivors in unit volume are plotted against time, the points fall on smooth curves. If the [...]
The method generally employed for the evaluation of germicides is to rate them according to their phenol coefficients. In addition to this, a number of newer methods have been proposed, which are designed to measure the toxicity of germicides for tissue as well as for the test bacteria. 1. Phenol-Coefficient Method: The phenol-coefficient test was first proposed by Rideal and [...]