What Hand Cleaners Kill Bacteria the Best?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this project was to determine which of the various household hand cleaners was the most effective in killing bacteria. Methods/Materials The project was divided into two phases. In phase one I would wash my dirty hands in various commerically available hand cleaners/gels and then place them on a large agar plate and count bacterial colonies after 24 hours of incubation at 37 degrees celcius. In the second phase of the experiment, a bacterial colony was isolated and diluted into sterile saline and then plated onto numerous agar plates with a sterile cotton swab. The aforementioned hand cleaners/gels were then saturated onto filter paper discs and placed onto the agar plates and incubated for 24 hours at 37 degrees celcius. Zones with no bacterial growth (rings of inihibition) were measured to determine antimicrobial effectiveness. Results The the first phase of the experiment Germ-X and Dial Complete had the lowest colony counts. In the second phase of the experiment Dial Complete (triclosan) had the absolute larges ring of inhibition measured at 16 mm, followed by the positive control Avagard (chlorhexidine) and dawn dish soap. Conclusions/Discussion It was determined that products that contain antimicrobial compounds in addition to soap were the most effective in killing bacteria. Dial complete (with triclosan) was the overall most effective product tested in killing bacteria. Germ-x hand gel was very effective in the first phase of the experiment and less effective in the second phase.

Awards (1)

• Honorable Mention

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Product Science (Biological) (Junior Division Only) · Entry J2020

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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