Fungicides

Introduction

At present, the COVID-19 epidemic is still serious all over the world. The demand for fungicides also continues to increase. Quaternary ammonium fungicides are known as the most ideal fungicides because of their high efficiency, low bactericidal concentration, small side effects, colorless, odorless, non-irritating, low toxicity, safety, and long-lasting antimicrobial, which is widely used in natural environment, hospital disinfection, aquaculture and other fields.

Figure 1. Sterilization

Quaternary Ammonium Fungicides

Fungicides mainly include chlorine fungicide, alcohol fungicide and quaternary ammonium fungicide. Compared with chlorine fungicides and alcohol fungicides, which are easy to corrode, pungent smell, flammable and explosive, quaternary ammonium fungicides have the advantages as follows, such as stable properties, high efficiency, no pungent odor and non-corrosive. Due to these advantages, quaternary ammonium fungicides have attracted more and more attention.

Figure 2. Comparison of three common fungicides

Mechanism of Sterilization

The mechanism of quaternary ammonium fungicide is that cations absorb negatively charged bacteria through electrostatic force, hydrogen bonding force, hydrophobic bonding between surfactant molecules and protein molecules, then gather on the cell wall to produce room barrier effect, which lead to the inhibition of bacterial growth thereby death. At the same time, hydrophobic alkyl group of quaternary ammonium fungicides can also interact with the hydrophilic group of the bacteria to change the permeability of the membrane, and then destroys the cell structure, finally causes cell lysis until death.

Attentions

Before use of quaternary ammonium fungicides, the following points need to be paid more attention.

a) Remove Organic Matter

Since organic substances can reduce the bactericidal concentration of quaternary ammonium salts, organic substances on the surface of objects should be removed before disinfection with quaternary ammonium fungicides.

b) Not Mixed with Anionic Surfactants

Quaternary ammonium salt is a cationic surfactant. Quaternary ammonium fungicides will reduce the effective concentration when combined with anionic surfactant. Common anionic surfactants in life include soap, washing powder, etc. In the process of using quaternary ammonium fungicides, avoid mixing with these anionic surfactants.

c) Avoid Using High Hardness Water

Quaternary ammonium fungicides are easily affected by pH, water quality, temperature and can exhibit better antimicrobial and bactericidal effects in an alkaline environment. Some quaternary ammonium fungicides react with metal ions in high-hardness water to reduce the effective concentration of quaternary ammonium salt, thus can not reach the corresponding disinfection effect. Therefore, distilled water should be used and the pH should be adjusted to alkaline in order to achieve the best disinfection effect when preparing quaternary ammonium fungicides.

Applications

Quaternary ammonium fungicides are efficient and safe, stable in nature, low in bactericidal concentration, small in side effects, non-irritating, and widely used in the antimicrobial mask, antimicrobial coatings and antimicrobial foam.

What Can Alfa Chemistry Do for You?

Alfa Chemistry has a professional team with many years of experience and has focused on the preparation and application of quaternary ammonium fungicides. With advanced platforms and equipment, we can provide the design and synthesis of multi-purpose quaternary ammonium fungicides to meet your requirements. We can ensure high-quality standards and complete delivery on time. If you want to know more about quaternary ammonium fungicides, please contact us.