Lysol

**Lysol** is a brand name of cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by the Reckitt Benckiser company. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air treatment, and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride.

## Benzalkonium chloride

**Benzalkonium chloride** (**BZK**, **BKC**, **BAK**, **BAC**), also known as **alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride** (**ADBAC**) and by the trade name **Zephiran**, is a type of cationic surfactant. It is an organic salt classified as a quaternary ammonium compound. ADBACs have three main categories of use: as a biocide, a cationic surfactant, and a phase transfer agent. ADBACs are a mixture of alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides, in which the alkyl group has various even-numbered alkyl chain lengths.

Benzalkonium chloride is classed as a Category III antiseptic active ingredient by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ingredients are categorised as Category III when "available data are insufficient to classify as safe and effective, and further testing is required”.

Benzalkonium chloride formulations for consumer use are dilute solutions. Concentrated solutions are toxic to humans, causing corrosion/irritation to the skin and mucosa, and death if taken internally in sufficient volumes. 0.1% is the maximum concentration of benzalkonium chloride that does not produce primary irritation on intact skin or act as a sensitizer.

The greatest biocidal activity is associated with the C12 dodecyl and C14 myristyl alkyl derivatives. The mechanism of bactericidal/microbicidal action is thought to be due to disruption of intermolecular interactions. This can cause dissociation of cellular membrane lipid bilayers, which compromises cellular permeability controls and induces leakage of cellular contents. Other biomolecular complexes within the bacterial cell can also undergo dissociation. Enzymes, which finely control a wide range of respiratory and metabolic cellular activities, are particularly susceptible to deactivation. Critical intermolecular interactions and tertiary structures in such highly specific biochemical systems can be readily disrupted by cationic surfactants.

Benzalkonium chloride solutions are fast-acting biocidal agents with a moderately long duration of action. They are active against bacteria and some viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Bacterial spores are considered to be resistant. Solutions are bacteriostatic or bactericidal according to their concentration. Gram-positive bacteria are generally more susceptible than gram-negative bacteria. Its activity depends on the surfactant concentration and also on the bacterial concentration (inoculum) at the moment of the treatment. Activity is not greatly affected by pH, but increases substantially at higher temperatures and prolonged exposure times.

Benzalkonium chloride is:

* very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates (LC50 = 5.9 μg ai/L)
* highly toxic to fish (LC50 = 280 μg ai/L),
* moderately toxic to birds (LD50 = 136 mg/kg-bw),
* slightly toxic ("safe") to mammals (LD50 = 430 mg/kg-bw).

Some of the scents from Lysol include "Crisp Linen", "Floral", "Fruit & Citrus", "Gourmand", and "Fresh". It is marketed with the spelling 'Lizol' in India.

## History

The first Lysol Brand Antiseptic Disinfectant was introduced in 1889 by Dr. Gustav Raupenstrauch to help end a cholera epidemic in Germany. The original formulation of Lysol contained cresols (CH3C6H4(OH)). This formulation may still be available commercially in some parts of the world.
Formulations containing chlorophenol are still available in the United Kingdom.

In 1911, poisoning by drinking Lysol was the most common means of suicide in Australia.

### Used in the 1918 Spanish flu

In 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, Lehn & Fink, Inc. advertised Lysol disinfectant as an effective countermeasure to the influenza virus. Newspaper advertisements provided tips for preventing the spread of the disease, including washing sick-rooms with Lysol, as well as everything that came in contact with patients. A small (US50¢) bottle made 5 US gallons (19 l; 4.2 imp gal) of disinfectant solution, and a smaller (US25¢) bottle made 2 US gallons (7.6 l; 1.7 imp gal). The company also advertised the "unrefined" Lysol F. & F. (Farm & Factory) for use in factories and other large buildings – a 5-US-gallon (19 l; 4.2 imp gal) can, when diluted as directed, made 50 US gallons (190 l; 42 imp gal) of disinfecting solution.

### As a "feminine hygiene" product

In the late 1920s Lysol disinfectant began being marketed as a "feminine hygiene" product by maker Lysol, Incorporated and distributor Lehn & Fink, Inc. It was claimed vaginal douching with a diluted Lysol solution prevented infections and vaginal odor, and thereby preserved youth and marital bliss. This Lysol solution was also used as a birth control agent, as post-coital douching was a popular method of preventing pregnancy at that time. The use of Lysol was later discouraged by the medical community as it tended to eliminate the bacteria normal to the healthy vagina, thus allowing more robust, health-threatening bacteria to thrive, and may have masked more serious problems that certain odors indicated in the first place. All the same, Joseph De Lee, a prominent American obstetrician who held great sway over American obstetric practice through his writings, encouraged the use of Lysol during labor. He writes in 1938, "...[J]ust before introducing the hand, the vagina is liberally flushed with 1 per cent lysol solution squeezed from pledgets of cotton, the idea being to reduce the amount of infectious matter unavoidably carried into the puerperal wounds and up into the uterus by the manipulations."

The Smithsonian Institution in 2013 included the Lysol feminine hygiene ads among others which were "hilarious and shocking" in hindsight.

### Use as an abortifacient

Earlier formulations of Lysol contained cresol, a compound that can induce abortions, and it was widely used by women who could not otherwise obtain legal abortions in the United States, although the medical community was relatively unaware of the phenomenon for the first half of the 20th century. By the 1960s, published medical literature had acknowledged the common use of Lysol and other soaps to induce abortions, which could lead to fatal renal failure and sepsis.

### Product innovations

* 1930: Lysol Brand Disinfectant Liquid is introduced to drug stores and hospitals.
* 1957/58 Lysol purchases the rights to private label National Laboratories, Inc's Disinfectant spray.
* 1962: Lysol releases the Lysol Disinfectant Spray, which used a new method of aerosol application.
* 1968: Lysol begins creating bathroom cleaners and releases the Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner.
* 1985: Lysol All Purpose Cleaner is released.
* 1988: Lysol begins shipping aerosol disinfectants to humid areas such as Houston, to combat "lung rot".
* 2000: Lysol introduces Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, a pre-moistened cleaning wipe for use on hard, non-porous surfaces.
* 2009: Lysol begins producing hand soaps.

Ownership: Lehn & Fink was acquired by Sterling Drug in 1967 and Reckitt & Colman acquired L&F in 1994 when Bayer acquired Sterling-Winthrop. As of 2015 Lysol products are distributed by Reckitt Benckiser LLC of Parsippany, New Jersey.

## Ingredients

Different Lysol products contain different active ingredients. Examples of active ingredients used in Lysol products:

* Ethanol/SD Alcohol, 40 1–3%; fluid that acts as sanitizer
* Isopropyl alcohol, 1–2%; partly responsible for Lysol's strong odor; acts as sanitizing agent and removes odor
* *p*-Chloro-o-benzylphenol, 5–6%; antiseptic
* o-Phenylphenol, 0.1%; antiseptic; in use circa 1980's
* Potassium hydroxide, 3–4%
* Alkyl (50% C14, 40% C12, 10% C16) dimethylbenzyl ammonium saccharinate, 0.10%; microbiocide
* Alkyl (C12-C18) dimethylbenzylammonium chloride, 0.08%; antiseptic
* Alkyl (C12-C16) dimethylbenzylammonium chloride, 0.02%; antiseptic
* Lactic acid as an antiseptic.
* Hydrogen Peroxide

## Products

* Disinfectants: Lysol Disinfectant products are used to kill surface and air bacteria. Products include:
	+ Lysol Disinfectant Spray
		- "Alkyl (50% C14, 40% C12, 10% C16) Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Saccharinate= 0.10%

		- Ethanol= 58.00%

		- Other Ingredients= 41.90% (total 100%)"
	+ Lysol Disinfecting Wipes
	+ Lysol Concentrate Disinfectant
* Cleaners: Lysol distributes several multi-purpose cleaners, kitchen cleaners, and bathroom cleaners. These include:
	+ Lysol Power & Free
		- Hydrogen peroxide
	+ Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner
	+ Lysol Multi-Surface Cleaner Pourable
	+ Lysol Power Kitchen Cleaner
	+ Lysol Bathroom Cleaner
	+ Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
	+ Lysol Mold & Mildew Remover
* Hand Soaps: Lysol recently developed a line of disinfecting hand soaps. Products include:
	+ Lysol No Touch Hand Soap System
	+ Lysol Touch of Foam Hand Wash

## Competition

Lysol's major competitors include Clorox, Febreze, Oust, Mr. Clean, Cif, Pine-Sol, OxiClean, Simple Green, Domestos and Tilex.