How do aldehydes affect bacteria?
1 Answer
Feb 5, 2017
Aldehydes, such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, are used to control bacterial growth.
Explanation:
Aldehydes, such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, have a wide microbiocidal activity and are sporicidal and fungicidal. They are partly inactivated by organic matter and have slight residual activity.
Formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde interact with protein, nucleic acid and others micro-organism bits of the bacteria, hence forth forbidding their growth.
Some bacteria have developed resistance to glutaraldehyde, and it has been found that glutaraldehyde can cause asthma and other health hazards, hence ortho-phthalaldehyde is replacing glutaraldehyde.
