Isopropyl alcohol: Can a disinfectant that has always been favored abroad become a rising star in the domestic disinfection industry? _Industrial additives

Isopropyl alcohol suddenly became popular

In the field of virus protection, the performance of isopropyl alcohol is more outstanding than that of ethanol. The main reason is that isopropyl alcohol is equivalent to adding a group of methyl groups on the basis of ethanol, which greatly enhances its lipophilicity, and this The enhanced permeability brought about by this lipophilicity also makes it more aggressive towards the protein coat of the virus. Browsing overseas Amazon, I found that the current proportion of isopropyl alcohol disinfectants in alcohol disinfectants is significantly higher than that in China (more than 30%). The overseas epidemic situation is severe and the supply of isopropyl alcohol is in short supply. According to information from Zhuochuang Consulting, Longzhong Information and other media, the price of overseas/domestic isopropyl alcohol has risen sharply. It has increased by 3,000 yuan/ton from the beginning of the year, and is still rising.

As the “COVID-19 epidemic” spreads to more than 100 countries around the world, various medical protective materials have become scarce. Especially isopropyl alcohol, which is used as a disinfectant, has also become a “hot product” on the market. Why is it so different? Is propanol disinfectant more widely used in developed countries than in China? Can isopropyl alcohol disinfectant be promoted in China and widely used in daily epidemic prevention work?

At present, the most commonly used alcohol disinfectants are ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. The ingredients of hand sanitizer recommended by the World Health Organization are ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. Both disinfectants can coagulate proteins and cause the death of microorganisms. A medium-efficiency disinfectant. In terms of effect, it has the same effect in killing bacterial reproduction and destroying most lipophilic poisons, such as herpes simplex virus, hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, etc. However, there is still a gap in the disinfection effect between the two. The official component of isopropyl alcohol is dimethylmethanol. It contains two sets of methyl groups to make it more capable of dissolving lipids and having better permeability than ethanol. This naturally increases the contact killing ability of isopropyl alcohol against certain bacteria and viruses. The killing effect is stronger than ethanol.

Isopropyl alcohol is mostly used to disinfect skin and medical equipment, and can also be used to disinfect prostheses. For example, South Korea and the United States. The beauty and plastic surgery industry in South Korea is developed, and 75% isopropyl alcohol is widely used for sterilization. In the United States, sterilizing wipes also use isopropyl alcohol, and its actual concentration is usually 70%. In addition, isopropyl alcohol can replace ethanol. Used for the preparation of compound disinfectants. In foreign countries, isopropyl alcohol is more widely used than ethanol. Due to the low price of ethanol in my country and the fact that all application fields of isopropyl alcohol in my country have not been effectively developed, ethanol is more widely used than isopropyl alcohol in the disinfectant industry.

Problems using disinfectants

Currently, the use of ethanol and isopropyl alcohol as disinfectants has the following problems:

(1) Cases of fires caused by improper ethanol disinfection operations occur from time to time. The saturated vapor pressure of isopropyl alcohol at room temperature is smaller than that of alcohol, making it safer and more reliable to use;

(2) 75% ethanol has an inactivating effect on bacteria. Too high a concentration of ethanol will form a protective film on the surface of the bacteria, preventing it from entering the bacterial body, making it difficult to completely kill the bacteria. If the concentration is too low, Although it can enter bacteria, it cannot coagulate the proteins in their bodies, nor can it completely kill bacteria, and ethanol is not suitable for large-area disinfection. Isopropyl alcohol has a bactericidal effect within the concentration range of 30% to 90%, and the dosage is flexible, safe and convenient.

(3) Industrial ethanol may contain a small amount of methanol, which is highly toxic to the human body. Direct contact should be avoided. If it is misused for hand disinfection, it is very dangerous. Most of the existing isopropyl alcohol industrial-grade products may contain impurities. It may lead to situations that are not suitable for human use.

Efficient, safe and low-priced sterilizing and disinfectants have become the first choice of consumers. I believe that with the continuous recognition and development of market applications, isopropyl alcohol will usher in the spring of development in the field of domestic and foreign disinfection and become the first choice in the domestic disinfection industry. ‘s rising star.