Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

QACs are cationic salts of organically substituted ammonium compounds and have a fairly broad range of activity against microorganisms, although more effective against Gram-positive bacteria at lower concentrations than Gram-negative bacteria. They are considerably less effective against bacterial spores. QACs are sometimes classified as surfactants. An example is benzalkonium chloride. QACs are the most widely used of the non-oxidizing disinfectants in the pharmaceutical industry. Their mode of action is on the cell membrane which leads to cytoplasm leakage and cytoplasm coagulation through interaction with phospholipids.