Biocide resistance mechanisms

Information about the mechanisms of action and resistance of biocides used as preservatives, sanitizers, and disinfectants continues to accumulate. While biocides are generally not as well-studied as antibiotics, it is becoming clear that bacteria employ the same major resistance strategies against both groups of antibacterial chemicals. The resistance strategies—inhibitor inactivation, target site alteration, and target site exclusion—are described in the context of the presumed mechanisms of action of the biocides using examples drawn from the literature.