ABSTRACT ‘Less is more’ is a common saying that can be applied for instance in arts. In architecture, this was typical for the Bauhaus team whose design was inspired by this principle, incarnated by Mies van der Rohe in his buildings. It may be surprising at the first moment that the principle can be applied in research and development, too. We here present the example N-chlorotaurine, an antiseptic and anti-infective derived from the human defence system, whose low reactivity (‘less’) is the reason for its broader applicability and remarkably also for better efficiency (‘more’). N-chlorotaurine belongs to the long-lived oxidants produced by activated human granulocytes and monocytes. It can also be prepared synthetically and used topically as an anti-infective. Its oxidizing and chlorinating activity is lower than that of other chloramines. Therefore, its tolerability is higher, and it can be applied to different body sites, including sensitive ones such as ulcerated skin, the eye, the ear, the urinary bladder, organ abscesses, and the bronchopulmonary system. N-chlorotaurine can be applied in higher concentration, which allows to easily overcome chlorine consumption. Moreover, its activity is enhanced by transfer of its active chlorine to ammonium in human exudates and body fluids, forming the more lipophilic and higher microbicidal monochloramine. Therefore, it is so far the only antiseptic whose microbicidal activity is not decreased but enhanced under in-vivo conditions. These findings are confirmed by the curative effects of N-chlorotaurine in clinical studies and case applications, and thus the principle ‘less is more’ applies to this antiseptic and anti-infective substance and renders it promising for further development.
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