Benzisothiazolinone is a widely used biocide

Biocide

A biocide is a chemical substance or microorganism which can deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by chemical or biological means. Biocides are commonly used in medicine, agriculture, forestry, and industry...

 and belongs to the group of isothiazolinone

Isothiazolinone

Isothiazolinone is a heterocyclic chemical compound. Derivatives of isothiazolinone are used as biocides, including:* Methylisothiazolinone * Chloromethylisothiazolinone * Benzisothiazolinone * Octylisothiazolinone...

s.

Usage

Benzisothiazolinone has a microbicide

Microbicide

Microbicides for sexually transmitted diseases, are pharmacologic agents and chemical substances that are capable of killing or destroying certain microorganisms that commonly cause human infection, for example the human immunodeficiency virus....

 and a fungicide

Fungicide

Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...

 mode of action. It is used as a preservative

Preservative

A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes....

 in emulsion paints, varnish

Varnish

Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a thinner or solvent. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss...

es, adhesive

Adhesive

An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...

s, washing agents, fuels and in the papermaking

Papermaking

Papermaking is the process of making paper, a substance which is used universally today for writing and packaging.In papermaking a dilute suspension of fibres in water is drained through a screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibres is laid down. Water is removed from this mat of fibres by...

 process. In paints, it is commonly used as a mixture with methylisothiazolinone

Methylisothiazolinone

Methylisothiazolinone or MIT, sometimes erroneously called methylisothiazoline, is a powerful biocide and preservative within the group of isothiazolinones, used amongst others in shampoos and body care products.-Applications:...

. Typical concentrations in products are 200–400 ppm depending on the application area and the combination with other biocides. According to a study in Switzerland, 19% of the paints, varnishes and coatings contained BIT in 2000. The fraction in adhesives, sealant

Sealant

A sealant may be viscous material that has little or no flow characteristics and stay where they are applied or thin and runny so as to allow it to penetrate the substrate by means of capillary reaction...

s, plasters and fillers was 25%.

Health hazards

It is a known human immune system toxicant, and also is classified as irritant for skin, eyes and lungs. It is widely used as active ingredient of many home cleaning products.

Literature

• Wilfried Paulus: Directory of Microbicides for the Protection of Materials and Processes. Springer Netherland, Berlin 2006, ISBN 1-402-04861-0.