Exploring the Correlation of Dynamic Surface Tension with Antimicrobial Activities of Quaternary Ammonium‐Based Disinfectants

Quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) disinfectants represent one of our first lines of defense against pathogens. Their inhibitory and bactericidal activities are usually tested through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time‐kill assays, but these assays can become cumbersome when screening m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ChemMedChem 2024-08, Vol.19 (16), p.e202400262-n/a
Main Authors: Vargas‐Cuebas, Germán G., Sanchez, Christian A., Brayton, Samantha R., Nikoloff, Alexander, Masters, Ronald, Minbiole, Kevin P. C., Wuest, William M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonium
Ammonium compounds
Antiseptics
bacteria
Bactericidal activity
biological activity
Correlation
Disinfectants
Disinfection
Disinfection & disinfectants
MIC assay
Minimum inhibitory concentration
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Quaternary ammonium salts
Staphylococcus aureus
Surface tension
surfactants
time-kill assay
Water hardness
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Summary:Quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) disinfectants represent one of our first lines of defense against pathogens. Their inhibitory and bactericidal activities are usually tested through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time‐kill assays, but these assays can become cumbersome when screening many compounds. We investigated how the dynamic surface tension (DST) measurements of QACs correlate with these antimicrobial activities by testing a panel of potent and structurally varied QACs against the gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus and the gram‐negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found that DST values correlated well with bactericidal activity in real‐world disinfection conditions but not with MIC values. Moreover, no correlation between these two antimicrobial activities of QACs (bactericidal and inhibition) was observed. In addition, we observed that the bactericidal activity of our QAC panel against the gram‐negative P. aeruginosa was severely affected in the presence of hard water. Interestingly, we found that the counterion of the QAC affects the killing of bacteria in these conditions, a phenomenon not observed in most MIC assessments. Moreover, some of our best‐in‐class QACs show enhanced bactericidal activity when combined with a commercially available QAC. In conclusion, we determined that an intrinsic physical property of QACs (DST) can be used as a technique to screen for bactericidal activity of QACs in conditions that mimic real‐world disinfection conditions. Screening for disinfectants with high potency can become arduous and resource‐intensive. To address this challenge, we evaluate the relationship between dynamic surface tension (DST), a readily ascertainable chemical property, with bactericidal activity of quaternary ammonium‐based disinfectants. We found that DST correlates well with bactericidal activity, thereby providing a proof of principle for utilizing DST to screen for potent QAC‐based biocides.
ISSN:1860-7179
1860-7187
1860-7187
DOI:10.1002/cmdc.202400262