In everyday life and in medical settings, the presence of antibacterial agents is visible, and it is often accepted that antibacterial agents are effective by killing bacteria directly, yet this is a huge area of error. Today, let us lift the veil of anti-bacterial mechanisms and restore the truth.
Antibacterial agents, which can be classified by source as natural antibacterial agents, such as shell-polymal sugar, and synthetic antibacterial agents, such as alcohol, chlorine disinfectants, etc. In well-known settings, the use of alcohol to wipe wounds for medical purposes prevents infection and the use of chlorine-containing detergents in swimming pools to protect water quality, all of which appear to confirm the powerful skills of antibacterial “bicide”. When bacteria are exposed to a high concentration of alcohol, alcohol induces the protein degenerative condensation of bacteria, as it locks critical “parts” in bacteria, rendering them inactivated, eventually dead, and for fungicide purposes; chlorine disinfectants use their own strong oxidation to damage the cytowalls, membranes of bacteria and cause bacterial content to flow, “speech for life”.
But not all antibacterials are “on-call”. Part of the antibacterial agent is a strategy to inhibit bacterial growth and reproduction, rather than to kill directly. For example, silver ion antibacterial agents are widely used in such areas as medical devices, textiles, and silver ion is not just as instantaneous as a “killer”, but rather interferes with enzyme activity in bacterial cells and prevents metabolism through the continuous release of trace silver ion. Bacteria are like a machine that is disturbed, unable to properly synthesize the material, acquire energy, slow to grow and grow in quantities, and thus have the effect of controlling bacterial hazards.
There is also a category of biological antibacterials, such as antibacterials produced by certain biobacteria. In the human intestinal `field of battle’, antibacterium, such as compost, is not directly “killed” to harmful bacteria. They act as a “gate” for the fungi, by altering the acidity of the local environment of the intestinal tract, by seizing the resources for survival, by inhibiting the adhesiveness and growth of the fungi, by competing for the survival of the fungi and by preserving the micro-ecological balance of the intestinal tract.
Direct killing of bacteria is not always the best option from the practical application scene. In the medical field, if a chronic infection wound is used with a strong antibacterial agent, it is possible, at the same time as the disease is eradicated, to damage the tissue cells around the wound and slow the healing process. At this point, it is more appropriate to select antibacterial products that can inhibit bacterial virulence and promote tissue restoration. In a home-based environment, overdependence on powerful microbicides tends to create microbial disequilibrium, giving a chance to use some of the already counterbalanced drug-resistant strains and causing secondary contamination.
It is important to understand the multifunctional mechanisms of antibacterial agents. On the one hand, it allows research and development staff to develop more targeted and less antibacterial products to meet different scenarios. For food preservation, anti-bacterial packagings designed to inhibit bacteria ‘ growth with moderate and long effects; for skin care, skin protections that are both anti-bacterial and that preserve the ecology of skin population. On the other hand, consumers have the right choice and use of antibacterials. In the prevention of general infections, moderate antibacterial products may be sufficient; in high-risk bacterial settings, highly effective antibacterial agents are selected, and use instructions are strictly followed to avoid abuse.
Antibacterial agents do not act in a single way that directly kills bacteria, and strategies such as inhibiting growth and regulating microecologicals are equally important. Breaking this misperception will enable us, in the pursuit of healthy, clean living and medical practices, to use anti-bacterial agents in order to avoid harm and make anti-bacterial technologies truly beneficial to humankind.
