The Efficacy of Disinfectants on Candida albicans at Different Concentrations and Contact Times

ABSTRACT

The upsurge of Candida albicans as the fourth most common causative agent of nosocomial infections necessitated the evaluation of a range of disinfectants for their efficacy against this organism. This project work was designed to basically determine the anti-Candida efficacy of three commonly used, commercially available disinfectants, namely Savlon, Septol, and Izal, using suspension test technique. The test organism was challenged with various concentrations (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of each disinfectant for a period of 0 min, 5 mins, 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins, and 1 hour. Result obtained revealed that all the concentrations of Savlon showed fungicidal activity at 5 mins and 1 hour contact times while Izal achieved the same, only at 1 hour exposure period. Septol achieved the least potency out of all the disinfectants tested.

Keywords: Anti-Candida efficacy, Candida albicans, Disinfectants, Suspension Test.