Monocationic Surfactant Induced Ultra Structural Changes in Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia Coli (Report‪)‬

Common nosocomial pathogens resistant to multiple antibiotics have increasingly been viewed as a major threat to the treatment of hospital and community acquired infections (1,2). It is mainly due to widespread inappropriate use and over-prescribing of antibiotics in clinical medicine, animal husbandry and veterinary practice (3,4). Accordingly, more stringent infection control measures have been advocated in order to reduce the transmission of infection (5), one such measure is the use of disinfectants of various categories. Use of antiseptic impregnated products, such as dressings and indwelling medical devices has seen tremendous increase in hospitals (6). QACs, are the most prevalent forms of cationic surfactants used today, which are produced by the nucleophilic substitution reaction of tertiary amines by an alkyl halide, benzyl chloride, or similar material (7). Amongst QACs, cetrimide, a mixture of bromides of ammonium is one of the most widely utilized detergent and antiseptic compounds. Material & Methods