国家消毒产品规范定义及卫生安全评价要求

抗菌（anti-microbial）：采用化学或物理方法杀灭细菌或妨碍细菌生长繁殖及其活性的过程。包括杀菌、抑菌。

An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth.Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibioticsare used against bacteria and antifungals are used against fungi. They can also be classified according to their function. Agents that kill microbes are called microbicidal, while those that merely inhibit their growth are called biostatic. The use of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is known as antimicrobial chemotherapy, while the use of antimicrobial medicines to prevent infection is known as antimicrobial prophylaxis.

The main classes of antimicrobial agents are disinfectants ("nonselective antimicrobials" such as bleach), which kill a wide range of microbes on non-living surfaces to prevent the spread of illness, antiseptics (which are applied to living tissue and help reduce infection during surgery), and antibiotics (which destroy microorganisms within the body). The term "antibiotic" originally described only those formulations derived from living micro organisms but is now also applied to synthetic antimicrobials, such as the sulphonamides, or fluoroquinolones. The term also used to be restricted to antibacterials (and is often used as a synonym for them by medical professionals and in medical literature), but its context has broadened to include all antimicrobials. Antibacterial agents can be further subdivided into bactericidal agents, which kill bacteria, and bacteriostatic agents, which slow down or stall bacterial growth. In response, further advancements in antimicrobial technologies have resulted in solutions that can go beyond simply inhibiting microbial growth. Instead, certain types of porous media have been developed to kill microbes on contact.

抑菌（bacteriostasis）：采用化学或物理方法抑制细菌或妨碍细菌生长繁殖及其活性的过程。

THE MEANING OF BACTERIOSTASIS, BACTERICIDAL EFFECT, AND RATE OF DISINFECTION

★ 国家2010年1月1日施行的《消毒产品卫生安全评价规定》中明确规定了抗菌剂与抑菌剂的各项检验项目及要求

抗（抑）菌制剂检验项目及要求

注：“＋”为必须做项目；“－”为不做项目；“±”为选做项目。①限于化学成分。②使用说明中标明对真菌有作用或用于外阴部的产品进行该项试验。③使用说明中标明对某一特定微生物有杀灭或抑制作用的，应进行该项试验。④说明书中标明用于皮肤的抗（抑）菌制剂应进行多次皮肤刺激性试验；说明书中标明用于粘膜的抗（抑）菌制剂应进行眼刺激性试验，用于阴道粘膜的抗（抑）菌制剂还应进行阴道粘膜刺激性试验。 

从上面表格中可以清楚的看出：抗菌剂是杀灭作用，而抑菌剂是抑制作用。

抗菌材料的起源从远古时代人们就开始使用，能够在一定时间内，使某些微生物(细菌、真菌、酵母菌、藻类及病毒等)的生长或繁殖保持在必要水平以下的化学物质。

杀菌剂和抑菌剂是作用方式不同，抑菌剂是通过抑制细菌繁殖发挥作用(如磺胺类、大环内酯类);杀菌剂则是破坏细菌细胞结构导致细菌死亡(如β内酰胺类)。

事实上杀菌或抑菌，并无绝对的界限。当浓度较高时，一些抑菌剂也会有杀菌作用。

杀菌剂和抑菌剂的区分似乎是通过试验进行的。一个简单的实验如纸片法，在培养24hr后将含药纸片移去，并继续培养，若抑菌圈内的细菌重新生长，显示是抑菌剂，若没有重新生长，显示为杀菌剂。