Benzalkonium Chloride-Induced Nephrotoxicity in 2D Cultures and a Human Kidney-on-a-Chip System

Their mechanism of action is proposed through the perturbation and disruption of a lipid membrane with its amphiphilic structure, in which BACs consist of a positively charged nitrogen head group and long aliphatic tail consisting of various lengths (Merchel Piovesan Pereira & Tagkopoulos, 2019).

Because of this mechanism, they are used as active ingredients in disinfectant and cleaning solutions (sprays, wipes and hand sanitizers), medical products (eye drops and nasal sprays), cosmetic and hygiene products, and used as sanitization tools in the agricultural and food processing industries (Merchel Piovesan Pereira & Tagkopoulos, 2019). Detectable levels of BACs on various food products (The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) of Germany, 2012) as well as topical exposure to BACs through disinfectant application to various surfaces and mediums can lead to chronic and systemic exposure to humans.