Patent ID: 7105577

Claim:
An antimicrobial method, which comprises contacting a substrate with an antimicrobially effective amount of a hydroxydiphenyl ether compound of the formula wherein, R 2 is hydrogen, C 1 –C 20 alkyl, hydroxy substituted C 1 –C 20 alkyl or C 1 –C 6 alkylcarbonyl; R 1 and R 3 are independently of each other hydrogen or C 1 –C 20 alkyl; and R 4 is hydrogen, C 3 –C 5 alkyl, hydroxy substituted C 1 –C 20 alkyl, C 1 –C 6 alkylcarbonyl or C 5 –C 7 cycloalkyl, with the proviso that when R 4 is hydrogen, R 1 is C 3 –C 4 alkyl and R 3 is hydrogen.