from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. An agent, such as a chemical or biological material, that inhibits bacterial growth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A biological or chemical agent that causes bacteriostasis.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. a chemical or biological material that inhibits bacterial growth.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a chemical or biological material that inhibits bacterial growth
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Depending upon whether a product can meet certain performance guidelines, a public health antimicrobial is classified as a bacteriostat, a sanitizer, a disinfectant (which is more strongly antimicrobial than a sanitizer), or a sterilizer (strongest of all).
A bacteriostat is a substance that inhibits the growth of bacteria in inanimate environments, preventing, say, rotting or odor of textiles or deterioration of paint.
Thus, if a manufacturer claimed that a chopping board treated with a bacteriostat killed common food pathogens, it would have to be registered and efficacy data submitted to prove its claims.
A bacteriostat must be registered if public health claims are made on its behalf.
It is used in burn ointments (Silvadene cream) and in bandaids as a bacteriostat and many burn units and rooms for immuno-suppressed patients who are in reverse-isolation have air vents lined with silver filaments to filter incoming air in order to cleanse the air of bacteria etc. Tue, 10/27/2009 - 21: 07 - Tyler Durden silver dissolved as a disinfectant.