Cetrimonium, cetyl trimethylammonium, or hexadecyltrimethylammonium is a
quaternary ammonium cation
In organic chemistry, quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively-charged polyatomic ions of the structure , where R is an alkyl group, an aryl group or organyl group. Unlike the ammonium ion () and the primary, secondary, ...
whose salts are used as antiseptics:
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Cetrimonium bromide
Cetrimonium bromide, also known with the abbreviation CTAB, is a quaternary ammonium surfactant with a condensed structural formula C16H33)N(CH3)3r.
It is one of the components of the topical antiseptic cetrimide. The cetrimonium (hexadecyltr ...
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Cetrimonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride, or cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), is a topical antiseptic and surfactant. Long-chain quaternary ammonium surfactants, such as cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), are generally combined with long-chain fatty alc ...
They have the
ATC code
The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System is a drug classification system that classifies the active ingredients of drugs according to the organ or system on which they act and their therapeutic, pharmacological and chemica ...
s (as skin antiseptics) and (as throat antiseptics).
References
{{Chemistry index
Antiseptics
Quaternary ammonium compounds