Lactone-Enhanced Antimicrobial Compositions for Lower Concentrations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing antimicrobial agents pose health risks and are often ineffective at low concentrations, necessitating a need to enhance their efficacy while minimizing their use to reduce health and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
The use of lactones of formula (I) in combination with antimicrobial agents, particularly 2-phenoxyethanol, to enhance their preservative and biocidal effects, with specific weight ratios and solvents to optimize performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hazardous but effective antimicrobial agents are used, then antimicrobial efficacy is improved, but health and environmental safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses lactones as intermediary substances that mediate between the antimicrobial agent and the microbial target. The lactone enhances the antimicrobial effect of the primary agent, allowing reduction of the hazardous agent's concentration while maintaining efficacy. This intermediary approach enables achieving the desired antimicrobial effect with lower amounts of harmful substances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the concentration parameter of the hazardous antimicrobial agent by introducing lactones that enhance its activity. By modifying the effective concentration through the enhancing effect of lactones, the system achieves the same antimicrobial efficacy at lower concentrations of the hazardous agent, thus improving safety while maintaining reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If non-hazardous antimicrobial agents are used, then health and environmental safety is improved, but antimicrobial efficacy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines non-hazardous antimicrobial agents with lactones to create a synergistic system. The combination merges the safety advantage of non-hazardous agents with the efficacy enhancement provided by lactones, resulting in a formulation that is both safe and effective. The lactone acts as a booster that amplifies the effect of the benign antimicrobial agent.
Solution Approach 2:
Lactones serve as intermediary enhancing agents that amplify the activity of non-hazardous antimicrobial agents. This intermediary mechanism allows non-hazardous agents to achieve higher efficacy levels without compromising their safety profile, effectively bridging the gap between safety and performance.
3Reliability
If high concentrations of antimicrobial agents are used, then antimicrobial efficacy is improved, but formulation stability and acceptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the concentration parameter by using lactones to enhance the activity of the antimicrobial agent. This allows achieving the same effective concentration effect at lower actual concentrations of the antimicrobial agent, thereby maintaining formulation stability and acceptability while preserving efficacy.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to the use of a lactone (I) wherein R1 is C1-C5-alkyl, for enhancing the antimicrobial activity of an antimicrobial agent as defined in the claims and the description and to a method for enhancing the antimicrobial activity of said antimicrobial agent comprising using the antimicrobial agent in combination with lactone (I); to the use of a mixture containing a lactone (I) and said antimicrobial agent for combating microbes, to a composition comprising said antimicrobial agent and a lactone (I) in certain weight ratios, and to a mixture consisting of at least one antimicro-bial agent (a), at least one lactone of the formula (I) and optionally at least one solvent [different from the lactones of the formula (I)].