benzalkonium chloride

[ ben-zal-koh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a white or yellowish-white, water-soluble mixture of ammonium chloride derivatives having the structure C 8 H 10 NRCl, where R is a mixture of radicals ranging from C 8 H 17 – to C 18 H 37 –, that occurs as an amorphous powder or in gelatinous lumps: used chiefly as an antiseptic and a disinfectant.

benzalkonium chloride

/ bĕn′zăl-kō′nē-əm /

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of benzalkonium chloride¹

benz- + alk(yl) + (amm)onium