LONG-CHAIN ALKANOYLCHOLINES, A NEW CATEGORY OF SOFT ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS THAT ARE ENZYMATICALLY DEGRADABLE

A new category of amphiphilic hydrolyzable quaternary ammonium compoun ds with rapid and high levels of antimicrobial activity was studied. T he compounds, alkanoylcholines with hydrocarbon chains of 10 to 14 car bon atoms, are hydrolyzed by butyrylcholine esterase, which is present in human serum and mucosal membranes. The hydrolysis products are com mon components of human metabolism. Alkanoylcholines were tested and f ound to be active against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria as well as yeasts. The microbicidal activities of the alkanoglcholines we re comparable to the activities of the stable quaternary ammonium comp ounds of corresponding chain length and increased with an increasing n umber of carbon atoms. Tbe compounds were also found to be hydrolyzed by enzymes present in certain microorganisms. The degradation was achi eved after reaching the microbicidal effect.