benzalkonium chloride
a white or yellowish-white, water-soluble mixture of ammonium chloride derivatives having the structure C8H10NRCl, where R is a mixture of radicals ranging from C8H17– to C18H37–, that occurs as an amorphous powder or in gelatinous lumps: used chiefly as an antiseptic and a disinfectant.
Origin of benzalkonium chloride
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Scientific definitions for benzalkonium chloride
[ bĕn′zăl-kō′nē-əm ]
A yellow-white powder prepared in an aqueous solution and used as a detergent, fungicide, bactericide, and spermicide. Benzalkonium chloride is a mixture of the chlorides of various organic compounds having a benzene ring attached to an ammoniated alkane.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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