benzalkonium chloride
antibioticmech:aro-34500a4f2b
·ANTIBACTERIAL
·MINTED
SEEDED
Benzalkonium chloride is a type of cationic surfactant. It is an organic salt called a quaternary ammonium compound. It has three main categories of use: as a biocide, a cationic surfactant, and as a phase transfer agent. — PMID:9079913
Machine-generated and unreviewed. Identity, structure and
cross-references come straight from ChEBI's and CARD's own data; no curator has
signed off on this record yet.
Classification
disinfecting agents and antisepticsARO:3005386
Strictly broader compounds or drug classes this molecule belongs to.
Chemical structure
Computed structure properties
| Molecular formula | C22H40N+ |
|---|
| Charge | 1 |
|---|
| Average mass | 318.6 Da |
|---|
| Monoisotopic mass | 318.31607528 Da |
|---|
| Source | PubChem · retrieved 2026-08-29 |
|---|
| InChIKey | VVZBFOKBSDGVGZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
|---|
SMILES
CCCCCCCCCCCCC[N+](C)(C)CC1=CC=CC=C1
InChI
InChI=1S/C22H40N/c1-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-17-20-23(2,3)21-22-18-15-14-16-19-22/h14-16,18-19H,4-13,17,20-21H2,1-3H3/q+1
Also called
- 8001-54-5 (EXACT_SYNONYM)— aro
- Benzalkonium (EXACT_SYNONYM)— aro
- D00857 (EXACT_SYNONYM)— aro
- Zephiran chloride (EXACT_SYNONYM)— aro
Cross-references
Equivalent identifiers for this same structure in other resources.
Activity roles
Every antimicrobial role a source asserts for this compound — the
unreduced evidence behind its antimicrobial_class.
Source concepts
Every upstream concept that resolved to this record. The merge is
the product: this is what shows ChEBI and CARD are describing the same structure.
Upstream concepts merged into this record
| Source | Native ID | Label | Minted CURIE | Version |
|---|
| ARO |
ARO:3003823 |
benzalkonium chloride |
antibioticmech:aro-34500a4f2b |
2026-08-30 |
Resistance mechanisms
6 known routes by which microbes
resist this compound, grounded in ARO where CARD models them. Grouped by mechanism
type — expand a group to see its determinants.
ANTIBIOTIC_EFFLUX 6
ANTIBIOTIC_EFFLUX
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|
| Acinetobacter baumannii AbuO |
ARO:3004578 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3004578 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Escherichia coli mdfA |
ARO:3001328 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3001328 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Klebsiella pneumoniae KpnEF |
ARO:3004585 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3004585 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| PmpM |
ARO:3004077 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3004077 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| qacG |
ARO:3007015 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3007015 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| qacJ |
ARO:3007014 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3007014 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3003823 (benzalkonium chloride); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
Curation history
-
SEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Seeded from data/raw/ inventories (ARO)
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-31 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-31 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
Provenance
Seeded by scripts/seed_from_sources.py from the committed
inventories in data/raw/.
View the record.