Microbial death can be defined as the loss of reproductive functions by a microorganism. In addition, as Sokol et al. (2022) state, this loss must be accompanied by favorable environmental conditions, which allows for considering the lack of the ability to reproduce death in full. Not being able to multiply even under ideal factors, such as temperature, pressure, and other parameters, microbes die, thereby losing the ability to divide.
Under the influence of antimicrobial agents, only the most sensitive microorganisms die, while resistant ones retain their vital properties. The surviving microbes begin to multiply, passing on the resistance to their offspring and, in some cases, to other microbes (World Health Organization, 2021). As a result, if only one antimicrobial agent is used in small doses, the likelihood of a rapid recovery of the microbial population is high.
In relation to the statement about skin sterilization with alcohol, it would be correct to clarify that alcohol sanitizes the skin but does not sterilize it. Many hand sanitizers contain alcohol in their formulations, which helps reduce the number of microbes on the skin surface to safe levels (Beausoleil et al., 2022). However, alcohol itself does not have sterilizing properties, which makes the original statement incorrect.
Many modern antimicrobial products include triclosan, a special chemical compound, in their formulations. The proportion of this component may vary depending on the specific product – toothpaste, aftershave, facial cleanser, and other products in the cosmetics and personal care industry (“Triclosan,” 2022). According to Shrestha et al. (2020), despite the concerns of some skeptics, this element is still relevant in the fight against infectious microorganisms, although its effect is not absolute. The process of developing antimicrobial products must continue, as evidenced by the dangerous statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as an optimization solution, stronger agents can be developed using components that, unlike triclosan, can affect not only bacteria but also other microbes without the concomitant formation of sensitivity and immunity to them.
References
Beausoleil, C., Comstock, S. L., Werner, D., Li, L., Eby, J. M., & Zook, E. C. (2022). Antimicrobial persistence of two alcoholic preoperative skin preparation solutions. Journal of Hospital Infection, 129, 8-16. Web.
Shrestha, P., Zhang, Y., Chen, W. J., & Wong, T. Y. (2020). Triclosan: Antimicrobial mechanisms, antibiotics interactions, clinical applications, and human health. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part C, 38(3), 245-268. Web.
Sokol, N. W., Slessarev, E., Marschmann, G. L., Nicolas, A., Blazewicz, S. J., Brodie, E. L., Firestone, M. K., Foley, M. M., Hestrin, R., Hungate, B. A., Koch, B. J., Stone, B. W., Sullivan, M. B., Zablocki, O., LLNL Soil Microbiome Consortium, & Pett-Ridge, J. (2022). Life and death in the soil microbiome: How ecological processes influence biogeochemistry. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 20(7), 415-430. Web.
Triclosan. (2022). Cleveland Clinic. Web.
World Health Organization. (2021). Antimicrobial resistance. Web.