Preparation and evaluation of benzalkonium chloride hand sanitizer as a potential alternative for alcohol-based hand gels

Abstract

Hand hygiene is one of the effective measures for reducing the transmission of infections. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing ethanol or isopropanol are considered efficient alternatives to handwashing with water and soap. Despite being effective against a broad-spectrum of microbes, fining an effective alternative to the alcohol-based hand sanitizers became a necessity owning to the limitations associated with their use, such as skin dryness, irritant contact dermatitis, and intoxication upon their accidental ingestion. Furthermore, in certain circumstances when the demand for alcohol exceeds the supply, like in the current COVID19 pandemic, formulating an effective non-alcoholic hand sanitizer would be a potential solution. Therefore, in this study, a non-alcoholic hand sanitizer containing benzalkonium chloride (BKC) as an active ingredient was prepared and evaluated as a less irritant and more persistent hand sanitizer gel. The hand gel was characterized by pH, viscosity, and spreadability. Results showed that this product has low viscosity, high spreadability and pH of 6.3, which is less likely to cause skin irritation. The antibacterial assessment (zone of inhibition) of the BKC-based hand sanitizer demonstrated antibacterial activities against nine out of eleven gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains, while the acceptability study on ten participants showed no signs of skin irritation nor redness upon its application. Consequently, this non-alcoholic based hand sanitizer is suggested as a potential alternative to alcohol-based hand gels.

Keywords: Disc diffusion; Hand hygiene; Hand sanitizer; Non-alcoholic hand gel; Skin irritation.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

The zone of inhibition diameters of the prepared hand sanitizer compared to three commercially available hand sanitizers (C1, C2, and C3) against eleven gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria (n = 3). It was demonstrated that the prepared hand sanitizer was able to inhibit nine out of eleven bacterial strains. In comparison, C1 and C2 were able to inhibit four bacterial strains each, and C3 was a more effective commercial product with an inhibition ability of eight out of eleven bacterial strains.

Fig. 2

The zone of inhibition diameters of the prepared hand sanitizer compared to three commercially available hand sanitizers (C1, C2, and C3) against eleven gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The prepared hand sanitizer was able to inhibit nine out of eleven bacterial strains. In comparison, C1 and C2 were able to inhibit four bacterial strains each, and C3 was a more effective commercial product with an inhibition ability of eight out of eleven bacterial strains. Nine refers to the prepared hand sanitizer. Two unused formulations were tested on the same plates.