Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan;22(1):12-18.
doi: 10.1177/1757177420963829. Epub 2020 Oct 20.

Ability of chlorhexidine, octenidine, polyhexanide and chloroxylenol to inhibit metabolism of biofilm-forming clinical multidrug-resistant organisms

Frank Günther  1   2 , Brigitte Blessing  2 , Ulrike Dapunt  3 , Alexander Mischnik  4 , Nico T Mutters  2   5
Affiliations

Ability of chlorhexidine, octenidine, polyhexanide and chloroxylenol to inhibit metabolism of biofilm-forming clinical multidrug-resistant organisms

Frank Günther et al. J Infect Prev. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: This in vitro study was designed to determine if standard antiseptics used for skin and environmental surface cleansing can disrupt the metabolic activity (as a measure of viability) of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus isolates within their native biofilms.

Methods: Sixty clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant bacteria were selected for testing in different chlorhexidine gluconate, octenidine, polyhexanide and chloroxylenol concentrations. Metabolic inhibition of biofilm for each clinical isolate was analysed using a biofilm viability assay.

Results: Chlorhexidine gluconate (mean = 83.8% ± 9.8%) and octenidine (mean = 84.5% ± 6.8%) showed the greatest efficacy against biofilms of the tested microorganisms, with the greatest efficacies against MRSA. The antiseptics demonstrated the least efficacy against biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Conclusion: Chlorhexidine gluconate and octenidine showed the greatest level of bacterial metabolic inhibition and were statistically equivalent. Polyhexanide was more effective than chloroxylenol, but both were inferior to chlorhexidine gluconate and octenidine against the tested organisms.

Keywords: Chlorhexidine; MRSA; biofilm; hospital-acquired infection; multidrug resistant gram-negatives; octenidine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Agodi A, Barchitta M, Cipresso R, Giaquinta L, Romeo MA, Denaro C. (2007) Pseudomonas aeruginosa carriage, colonization, and infection in ICU patients. Intensive Care Medicine 33: 1155–1161. - PubMed
    1. Akinbobola AB, Sherry L, McKay WG, Ramage G, Williams C. (2017) Tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in in-vitro biofilms to high-level peracetic acid disinfection. Journal of Hospital Infection 97: 162–168. - PubMed
    1. Alhede M, Er O, Eickhardt S, Kragh K, Alhede M, Christensen LD, Poulsen SS, Givskov M, Christensen LH, Hoiby N, Tvede M, Bjarnsholt T. (2014) Bacterial biofilm formation and treatment in soft tissue fillers. Pathogens and Disease 70: 339–346. - PubMed
    1. Amalaradjou MA, Venkitanarayanan K. (2014) Antibiofilm Effect of Octenidine Hydrochloride on Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and VRSA. Pathogens 3: 404–416. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Auler ME, Morreira D, Rodrigues FF, Abr Ao MS, Margarido PFR, Matsumoto FE, Silva EG, Silva BCM, Schneider RP, Paula CR. (2010) Biofilm formation on intrauterine devices in patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. Medical Mycology 48: 211–216. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources