We know that alcohol has the function of sterilization and disinfection, but not all concentrations of alcohol have the function of sterilization and disinfection. The main component of alcohol is ethanol. The concentration of medical alcohol is generally 75% or 95%, while the concentration of industrial alcohol reaches 99%. Too high a concentration has no effect on bacteria and viruses, and too high a concentration can cause poisoning. In severe cases, it can It can cause blindness or even death, so industrial alcohol cannot be used for disinfection.

Samples of some brands of alcohol disinfectant wipes that have no sterilizing effect due to low concentrations have been detected, such as Yunnan Baiyao, Yarun, Yongshu and Beierjie. There are 6 alcohol disinfectant wipes. The ethanol concentration is less than 75%, and even the lowest alcohol concentration of Beljie is only 5.2%, which is far from the actual requirements and cannot achieve any disinfection effect at all.

The principle of alcohol disinfection is to denature proteins, allowing the long chains of curled-up protein molecules to stretch and relax, especially destroying the force that causes them to rotate and curl up, making them inactive, thereby achieving the purpose of disinfection. The "Pneumonia Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus Infection (Trial Fifth Edition)" clearly states that 75% ethanol can effectively disinfect viruses and bacteria. The alcohol disinfection products you see every day will also clearly indicate the alcohol content, but the presence of alcohol False concentration standards are a serious problem.

The reason why 75% alcohol is needed for disinfection is because alcohol must be present at the same time as water to inactivate the protein. Alcohol with a concentration that is too high will form a protective film on the surface of the bacteria, preventing the alcohol from entering the bacteria itself and being unable to contact with the proteins in the bacteria. This makes it difficult to completely kill the bacteria, but instead plays a protective role for the bacteria; if the concentration is too low, Although it can enter the bacteria, the concentration is not enough to denature and inactivate the proteins in the bacteria, so the purpose of disinfecting cannot be achieved.

To sum up, the alcohol concentration of Yunnan Baiyao and other disinfectant wipes is seriously false, especially the products whose alcohol content is far from the actual required, and cannot disinfect and sterilize.