ArticleAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy2013
Mitochondrial dysfunction is the focus of quaternary ammonium surfactant toxicity to mammalian epithelial cells.
Article in Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metal Oxide Doping Modulates the Performances of Copper Oxide Nanoparticular Biocides.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mechanism and Molecular Design Principles of Cationic Surfactants: From Charge-Driven Membrane Interactions to Next-Generation Quaternary Ammonium Compounds.ChemMedChem · 2026Review
- Polysorbates' effects on molecular and thermodynamic properties of phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotides' structures.Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2026Article
- Structure-activity relationships and molecular mechanisms of natural products in sepsis-associated organ dysfunction: a narrative review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Smart coacervate microdroplets: biomimetic design, material innovations, and emerging applications in biomacromolecule delivery.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Effect of surfactants and polymer composition on the characteristics of polyhydroxyalkanoate nanoparticles.ADMET & DMPK · 2025Article
- In vitro analysis of a novel dimethylaminododecyl methacrylate modification of dental acrylic soft liner material.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Identification of Environmental Compounds That May Trigger Early Female Puberty by Activating Human GnRHR and KISS1R.Endocrinology · 2024Article
- Review
- Unraveling How Membrane Nanostructure Changes Impact the Eye Irritation of Nonionic Alkyl Ethoxylate Surfactants.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2023Article
- Evaluation of the Antitumor Activity of Quaternary Ammonium Surfactants.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Effect of Oligomers Derived from Biodegradable Polyesters on Eco- and Neurotoxicity.Biomacromolecules · 2023Article
- Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: A Chemical Class of Emerging Concern.Environmental science & technology · 2023Review
- Biomonitoring of Indoor Air Fungal or Chemical Toxins withPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Adjustment of the Structure of the Simplest Amino Acid Present in Nature-Glycine, toward More Environmentally Friendly Ionic Forms of Phenoxypropionate-Based Herbicides.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- In-Membrane Nanostructuring of Cationic Amphiphiles Affects Their Antimicrobial Efficacy and Cytotoxicity: A Comparison Study between a De Novo Antimicrobial Lipopeptide and Traditional Biocides.Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids · 2022Article
- Article
- Dodecylpyridinium chloride removal by persulfate activation using UVA radiation or temperature: experimental design and kinetic modeling.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Article
- Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: Bioaccumulation Potentials in Humans and Levels in Blood before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic.Environmental science & technology · 2021Article
- Engineering of Biocompatible Coacervate-Based Synthetic Cells.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Surfactants have long been known to have microbicidal action and have been extensively used as antiseptics and disinfectants for a variety of general hygiene and clinical purposes. Among surfactants, quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) are known to be the most useful antiseptics and disinfectants. However, our previous toxicological studies showed that QAC are also the most toxic surfactants for mammalian cells. An understanding of the mechanisms that underlie QAC toxicity is a crucial first step in their rational use and in the design and development of more effective and safer molecules. We show that QAC-induced toxicity is mediated primarily through mitochondrial dysfunction in mammalian columnar epithelial cell cultures in vitro. Toxic effects begin at sublethal concentrations and are characterized by mitochondrial fragmentation accompanied by decreased cellular energy charge. At very low concentrations, several QAC act on mitochondrial bioenergetics through a common mechanism of action, primarily by inhibiting mitochondrial respiration initiated at complex I and, to a lesser extent, by slowing down coupled ADP phosphorylation. The result is a reduction of cellular energy charge which, when reduced below 50% of its original value, induces apoptosis. The lethal effects are shown to be primarily a result of this process. At higher doses (closer to the critical micellar concentration), QAC induce the complete breakdown of cellular energy charge and necrotic cell death.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.