Antiseptic Lab
The Relation of
Antiseptics and
Bacteria Growth
Purpose: To explore the effectiveness of different levels of concentration of antiseptic and antibacterial products’ prevention of bacterial growth.
Question: Amongst common household products, which antiseptic and level of concentration is more effective at inhibiting the growth of bacteria?
Introduction:
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances used on living tissue to reduce the possibility of infection, putrefaction or sepsis. The word “anti” is for against and the word “septic” is for infection. Antibacterial products are antiseptics that are proven to act against bacteria. Bacteria need a food supply, moisture, a certain temperature, a certain level of acidity and in most cases oxygen. To cut off these elements to a certain degree would prevent this growth of bacteria and that is what most antibacterial products do. Antiseptics are generally very different from antibiotics because they kill bacteria outside the body while antibiotics kill microorganisms internally. Antiseptics vary a great deal in their ability to prevent bacteria growth and destroy microorganisms, and there is also variation between the types of bacteria each antiseptic target. Certain antiseptics are also more specialized towards different areas that are either less delicate or more delicate such as the use of silver nitrate which does not kill as many germs as a stronger antiseptic, but can be used on delicate tissue. Furthermore, antiseptics vary in their speed, meaning the time required for different antiseptics to work, actually varies depending on the antiseptic. Some antiseptics are slow but some are very fast such as Iodine, which kills bacteria within 30 seconds. Scientists have created systems for measuring the action of an antiseptic through the comparison of bacteriostatic action and phenol (under the same conditions against the same microorganism), which was called the phenol coefficient. This system was directed towards
Antiseptics and
Bacteria Growth
Purpose: To explore the effectiveness of different levels of concentration of antiseptic and antibacterial products’ prevention of bacterial growth.
Question: Amongst common household products, which antiseptic and level of concentration is more effective at inhibiting the growth of bacteria?
Introduction:
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances used on living tissue to reduce the possibility of infection, putrefaction or sepsis. The word “anti” is for against and the word “septic” is for infection. Antibacterial products are antiseptics that are proven to act against bacteria. Bacteria need a food supply, moisture, a certain temperature, a certain level of acidity and in most cases oxygen. To cut off these elements to a certain degree would prevent this growth of bacteria and that is what most antibacterial products do. Antiseptics are generally very different from antibiotics because they kill bacteria outside the body while antibiotics kill microorganisms internally. Antiseptics vary a great deal in their ability to prevent bacteria growth and destroy microorganisms, and there is also variation between the types of bacteria each antiseptic target. Certain antiseptics are also more specialized towards different areas that are either less delicate or more delicate such as the use of silver nitrate which does not kill as many germs as a stronger antiseptic, but can be used on delicate tissue. Furthermore, antiseptics vary in their speed, meaning the time required for different antiseptics to work, actually varies depending on the antiseptic. Some antiseptics are slow but some are very fast such as Iodine, which kills bacteria within 30 seconds. Scientists have created systems for measuring the action of an antiseptic through the comparison of bacteriostatic action and phenol (under the same conditions against the same microorganism), which was called the phenol coefficient. This system was directed towards
References: Unknown. (2011). Antiseptics and Bacteria. Retrieved February 25 from -Information on how antiseptics work -Information on how antiseptics prevent bacteria growth Alice Park. ( December 3, 2010). Can Overuse of Antibacterial Soap Promote Allergies in kids? Retrieved February 27 from