Germicide

Claim 1

A SUBSTANTIALLY WATER-FREE, PHENOLIC, GERMICIDAL COMPOSITION THAT IS ADAPTED AS SUCH FOR DIRECT LOCAL APPLICATION, SAID COMPOSITION COMPRISING A HIGHLY CAUSTIC MONOHYDROXYPHENOL OF THE CLASS CONSISTING OF CARBOLIC ACID, THE ISOMERIC CRESOLS, O-CHLOROPHENOL, P-CHLORPHENOL, AND 2,4-DICHLOROPHENOL IN SUBSTANTIALLY HOMOGENEOUS PHYSICAL ADMIXTURE WITH A NON-NITROGENOUS, OXYGEN-CONTAINING POLAR MATERIAL WHOSE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE IS RENDERED PREPONDERANTLY ANIONIOD IN CHARACTER BY THE PRESENCE THEREIN OF AN EFFECTIVE NUMBER OF ELECTRON-DONATING POLAR GROUPS; SAID POLAR MATERIAL BEING FURTHER CHARACTERIZED (A) BY BEING CHEMICALLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE CAUSTIC PHENOL, AND (B) BY BEING CAPABLE OF FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY HOMOGENEOUS PHYSICAL SYSTEM WITH MORE THAN ITS WEIGHT OF THE CAUSTIC PHENOL; THE POLAR MATERIAL IN SAID PHYSICAL SYSTEM, WHEN SAID SYSTEM, SO FORMED, IS APPLIED TO A SUBSTANTIALY DRY, CUTANEOUS SURFACE, CAUSING THE PHENOL THEREIN TO EXHIBIT A DELAY IN THE TIME OF ONSET OF ITS CAUSTIC EFFECT OF AT LEAST 100 PERCENT BEYOND THE TIME OF ONSET OF CAUSTIC EFFECT OF A CONTROL MIXTURE CONTAINING THE SAME PHENOL IN THE SAME PROPORTION BY WEIGHT AS IN SAID PHYSICAL SYSTEM, BUT WITH SAID POLAR MATERIAL BEING SUBSTITUTED IN THE CONTROL MIXTURE BY A SUBSTANTIALLY NONPOLAR HYDROCRBON OF THE CLASS CONSISTING OF CYCLOHEXANE, PINENE, P-XYLENE AND A MIXTURE OF ISOMERIC XYLENES; SAID POLAR MATERIAL BEING A TRIGLYCERIDE OF AN ALIPHATIC CARBOXYLIC ACID, SAID ACID CONTAINING NOT MORE THAN TWELVE CARBON ATOMS; SAID COMPOSITION CONTAINING THE CAUSTIC PHENOL IN AN EFFECTIVE GERMICIDAL CONCENTRATION; AND SAID TRIGLYCERIDE BEING PRESENT IN THE COMPOSITION IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO REDUCE THE CAUSTICITY OF THE PHENOL WITHOUT PROPORTIONATELY REDUCING ITS GERMICIDAL POWER.