IT IS A QUATERNARY AMMONIUM ANTISEPTIC.
IN ADDITION TO EMULSIFYING AND DETERGENT PROPERTIES, QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS HAVE BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY AGAINST GRAM-POSITIVE AND, AT A HIGHER CONCENTRATION,
AGAINST SOME GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA. SOME PSEUDOMONAS SPP. ARE PARTICULARLY RESISTANT AS ARE STRAINS OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS. THEY ARE INEFFECTIVE
AGAINST BACTERIAL SPORES, HAVE VARIABLE ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY, AND ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST SOME VIRUSES. QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE IN NEUTRAL OR SLIGHTLY ALKALINE SOLUTION AND THEIR BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY IS APPRECIABLY REDUCED IN ACID MEDIA; THEIR ACTIVITY IS ENHANCED BY ALCOHOLS.