What is the most common cleaning agent used within a pharmacy and on a laminar flow hood?

Isopropyl alcohol at a concentration of 70% is widely recognized as the most effective cleaning and disinfecting agent used in pharmacies and laminar flow hoods. This concentration is particularly valuable because it contains enough water to enhance the penetration of the alcohol into the microbial cell membrane, which crucially aids in effectively killing bacteria and other pathogens.

In contrast, using ethyl alcohol at 100% may not be as effective since its higher alcohol concentration can lead to rapid evaporation, which diminishes its contact time with surfaces and limits its ability to disrupt and kill microorganisms. Benzalkonium chloride, while it is a disinfectant, is generally less effective against certain types of organisms and does not offer the broad-spectrum efficacy that 70% isopropyl alcohol provides. Hydrogen peroxide at 3% can also be utilized for disinfection but is not as commonly employed in pharmacy practices specifically for cleaning laminar flow hoods when compared to isopropyl alcohol, which has a faster action and is well-studied for this purpose.