Studies on the Action of Wetting Agents on Microörganisms: I. The Effect of pH and Wetting Agents on the Germicidal Action of Phenolic Compounds.

Soaps have been extensively used, often with added alkali, to emulsify or make soluble phenolic compounds of limited solubility (Klarmann, Shternov and Von Wowern, 1929; McCulloch, 1936). There is, however, a good deal of controversial information in the literature dealing with the effect of soaps on the germicidal action of phenolic compounds. Frobisher (1927) reported that small amounts of sodium oleate delayed, larger amounts enhanced, and still larger amounts destroyed the germicidal activity of phenol. Hampil (1928) stated that pure soaps decreased the germicidal activity of phenol, meta-cresol, and secondary butyl phenol. Tilley and Schaffer (1925) showed that the bactericidal efficiency of cresol soap mixtures was greatly affected by the proportions of soap and cresol used. Schaffer and Tilley (1930) found that coconut oil soap, castor oil soap or linseed oil soap, when mixed with various phenolic compounds in the proportion of 1 part soap to 2 parts of phenol increased the germicidal efficiency of the phenols. Halvorson, Baylis, Ordal, and Wilson (1935), in a study of germicidal detergent compositions for simultaneous washing and disinfection, found that the addition of small amounts of various soaps and other wetting agents enhanced considerably the germicidal action of moderately alkaline detergent mixtures containing diphenols.