ZEPHIRAN chloride, a mixture of high molecular alkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chlorides, is a cationic detergent and germicide. Domagk,1 Dunn,2 Baker and colleagues,3 White and colleagues,4 Walter,5 Schumacker and Bethea,6 Hauser and Cutter7 and others have appraised its value as a germicide and pointed out its usefulness in the field of surgery.8 It is the purpose of this report to present the results obtained while its value was being investigated in use as a mechanical and chemical cleansing agent for the preoperative preparation of the hands, to compare its worth as a detergent when used for this purpose with that of medicinal soft soap and to compare its merits as a bactericide with those of 70 per cent alcohol when employed as a chemical cleansing agent.
Domagk1 first pointed out some of the physical properties of zephiran chloride. It is a colorless, almost