Formulation and evaluation of a sterilizing gel containing 4-chloro-3,5-dimethylphenol using cationic and mixed surfactant systems

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of a sterilizing gel of 4-chloro-3,5-dimethylphenol (CDMP) arising from the presence of wormlike micelles, as detected by dynamic viscosity measurements. Surprisingly, the gel state was observed not only in the ternary system consisting of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), but also in the binary mixture of CDMP and CTAB. A theoretical investigation based on quantum mechanical calculations was conducted to elucidate the molecular origin of this phenomenon, attributing it to specific interactions between CDMP and the polar head group of CTAB. The role of CDMP in modulating the thermodynamic feasibility of one-dimensional micelle formation in mixed SDS/CTAB systems and in single-component CTAB solutions was examined. Stability measurements based on chemical kinetics, along with an in vitro study to evaluate the biological activity against Staphylococcus aureus , were achieved for three systems: the ternary system, the binary system, and CDMP alone in aqueous solution. Interestingly, it was found that both stability and biological activity are significantly enhanced compared to those in water. The results indicate that CDMP formulations can be developed into commercial gel-like products with improved cleaning performance due to the presence of surfactants.