Tincture of iodine

Tincture of iodine used to disinfect the area around an epidural catheter.

Tincture of iodine or iodine tincture is an antiseptic, it is also called weak iodine solution. It is usually 2–7% elemental iodine, along with potassium iodide or sodium iodide, dissolved in a mixture of ethanol and water. Tincture solutions are characterized by the presence of alcohol. It was used from 1908 in pre-operative skin preparation by surgeon Antonio Grossich.[1]

USP formulas

USP Tincture of Iodine is defined in the U.S. National Formulary (NF) as containing in each 100 mL, 1.8 to 2.2 grams of elemental iodine, and 2.1 to 2.6 grams of sodium iodide. Alcohol is 50 ml and the balance is purified water. This "2% free iodine" solution provides about one mg of free iodine per drop.

USP Strong Iodine Tincture is defined in the NF as containing in each 100 mL, 6.8 to 7.5 gram of iodine, and 4.7 to 5.5 gram of potassium iodide. Purified water is 50 mL and the balance is alcohol. This 7% tincture solution is about 3.5 times more concentrated than USP 2% tincture.

As in the case of Lugol's iodine, the role of iodide in the solution is to increase the solubility of the elemental iodine, by turning it to the soluble triiodide anion I3−. However, since iodine has moderate solubility in ethanol, it is also assisted by this solvent directly. Lugol's iodine, by contrast, has no alcohol, and has twice the amount of iodide as elemental iodine.

Usage

As both USP solutions contain elemental iodine, which is moderately toxic when ingested in amounts larger than those required to disinfect water, tincture of iodine is sold labelled "for external use only," and used primarily as a disinfectant.

Tincture of iodine is often found in emergency survival kits, used both to disinfect wounds and to sanitize surface water for drinking. When an alcohol solution is not desirable for this purpose, the alcohol-free Lugol's iodine, an aqueous solution of iodine in potassium iodide solution, or else povidone iodine (brand names Wokadine, Betadine), a PVPI solution, can be used.

Small amounts may be added to suspect drinking water as a disinfectant (typically 5 mg free iodine per liter, or 5 drops of 2% tincture). Though this treatment is effective against bacteria and virus, it does not protect against protozoe parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.[2]

Iodine solution is used to sanitize the surface of fruit and vegetables for bacteria and virus. The common concentration for sanitization is 25 ppm idophor for 1 minute.[3] However, the effectiveness depends on whether the solution penetrates into rifts, and whether dirt is effectively removed at first. But, oocytes of protozoe parasites will not be killed, and it is also doubtful that bacterial spores are killed. Iodine solutions should not be considered able to sanitize or disinfect salad, fruit or vegetables that are contaminated by faeces. Thus, it should not be considered safe to eat raw fruit, salads and vegetables which are sanitized with iodine, if they could be contaminated by faeces.[4]

Iodine tincture is not a recommended source of solely-nutritional iodine. Nutritional iodine is better supplied in the form of the less toxic iodide (see SSKI) or iodate salts, which the body can easily convert to thyroid hormone.

Nevertheless, the iodide in tincture of iodine used as a water disinfectant does supply more than adequate nutritional iodine, perhaps 30 or more times the recommended dietary allowance per liter or quart. Application of tincture or Lugol's to the skin also results in absorption and bioavailability of some moderate fraction of the iodine.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seymor S. Block (2001). Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation, 5e. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 922. ISBN 978-0-683-30740-5. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. ↑ A Guide to Drinking Water Treatment and Sanitation for Backcountry & Travel Use, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Sanitizers and Disinfectants: The Chemicals of Prevention, Foodsafety Magazine . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Surface decontamination of fruit and vegetable eaten raw . Retrieved 14 February 2015.

External links

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