Antimicrobial activity of biocides against different microorganisms isolated from biodeteriorated paints

The present study was conducted to analyse the antimicrobial activity of different biocides against the microorganisms isolated from the biodeteriorated paints. two fungal (msf1 and msf2) and two bacterial strains (msb1 and msb2) were isolated from the biodeteriorated paints and identified on the basis of morphological characteristics and biochemical tests respectively. sensitivity of the isolated bacterial and fungal strains against the biocides; hgcl 2,cu(ch 3coo) 2,cdcl 2 and (nh 2) 2co at different concentrations was tested in terms of inhibitory zones. inorganic salts of heavy metals such as hgcl 2 and cdcl 2 were highly effective against these microorganisms,on the other hand cu(ch 3coo) 2 and (nh 2) 2co were relatively less effective. fungal strains showed more sensitivity against different biocides as compared to bacteria. msf2 showed the highest sensitivity at 300 μg/ml of hgcl 2 with 1.9cm of inhibition zone. overall,hgcl 2 was found to be the most effective to kill the microorganisms isolated from biodeteriorated paints. copyright 2012 zoological society of pakistan.