Cresol

When cresol isomers are used directly as the active ingredient in bactericides or disinfectants, it appears as if much of the evidence for the mechanism of action for such phenolic germicides indicates that their effect is due to physical damage of bacterial cell membranes. Although not completely explained, some possibilities of how this effect occurs either involves the phenol germicide binding or coming into contact with and (a) causing changes in the permeability of the osmotic barrier of bacterial cell membranes, which therefore allows the escape or leakage of normal cytoplasmic constituents, (b) causing the uncoupling of cytoplasmic constituents with their subsequent leakage from the cell, or (c) a combination of these actions.