viscount Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 This might dip into biology a tiny bit... Within the ingredients of said product it says: "Alcohol %96, Isopropyl Alcohol, IPM, Glycerin" etc. It is marketed as a bactericide and hand sanitizer akin to Purel. However why don't they use %62 alcohol like Purel for maximum effect? Can %96 alcohol kill germs as effectively as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 if anything 96% can kill them more effectively. why do you think 62% is the most effective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) if anything 96% can kill them more effectively. why do you think 62% is the most effective? Hydrophobic bacteria? (note: this reply was not helpful) Btw, wikipedia has a small webpage about Purell... for those who never heard of the stuff. It says that the active ingredient is simply ethanol (no other additives). That would suggest that the 96% ethanol would work just as fine... or probably even better. Btw, the other one contains IPM. Googling for [iPM solvent] suggests that this IPM is Isopropyl myristate, which is a cosmetic that facilitates absorption through the skin. Doesn't sound like a disinfectant to me. (Of course, a 3 letter abbreviation can have more than 1 meaning). Edited July 8, 2009 by CaptainPanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I can't remember the details but I have seen somewhere that about 70% alcohol is more effective as a bactericide than 100% alcohol. If I remember it was because the 100% stuff causes some bacteria to form spores that are resistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 It is unlikely that the final concentration of ethanol is 96%. First it is hard to synthesize Ethanol with a higher purity than 96% to begin with and second, it is generally diluted with other components (so the final concentration will be lower). Finally, John is right that 70%-80% has the highest bactericidal rates, but it is independent on the ability to sporulate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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