Fungicidal Properties of Alkyl-Dimethyl-Benzyl Ammonium Chlorides. ∗

Abstract

The organic compound, alkyl-dimethyl-benzyl ammonium chlorides, is a new type of germicide having the following formula:

R represents a mixture of the alkyl radicals C₈H₁₇, C₁₀H₂₁, C₁₂H₂₅, _C14H₂₉, C₁₆H₃₃, and C₁₈H₃₇ as derived from the fatty acids of coconut oil.

Some of the germicidal, antiseptic, physical and chemical properties of this rather unusual germicide have been reported by Domagk, 1 Heineman, 2 and Dunn. 3 , 4

The test organisms used in the present investigation were secured from the following sources : Actinomyces gedanensis and Cryptococcus horninis from the American Type Culture Collection, and the others from stock collections maintained by the Department of Biology and Public Health.