Effectiveness of ethanol and methanol alcohols on different isolates of staphylococcus species

Abstract

Staphylococcus species are Gram-positive, non-motile, nonsporing cocci of varying size occurring singly, in pairs and in irregular clusters. They are facultative anaerobes with fermentative metabolism. Their optimum growth temperature is 30oC-37oC.1 Staphylococci are classified mainly by their production of coagulase enzyme that clots plasma into Coagulase positive Staphylococci and Coagulase negative Staphylococci.2 Alcohol refers to two water-soluble chemical compounds, ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol, which have germicidal characteristics. These Alcohols are rapidly bactericidal rather than bacteriostatic against vegetative forms of bacteria; they also are tuberculocidal, fungicidal, and virucidal but do not destroy bacterial spores. Their cidal activity drops sharply when diluted below 50% concentration, and the optimum bactericidal concentration is 60%–90% solutions in water. Alcohols are not recommended for sterilizing medical and surgical materials principally because they lack sporicidal action and they cannot penetrate protein-rich materials.3