Rideal–Walkern.
/rɪˌdiːəlˈwɔːkə/, U.S. /rɪˌdi(ə)lˈwɔkər/, /rɪˌdi(ə)lˈwɑkər/ Chemistry and Medicine.
1. Rideal–Walker test n. (also Rideal–Walker method) a procedure for determining the germicidal efficiencies of disinfectants relative to phenol as a standard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > disinfecting > [noun] > disinfectant > test or measure of disinfectant
Rideal–Walker test1904
1904 Lancet 20 Aug. 524/2 (heading) The Rideal-Walker method of testing disinfectants, with special reference to the action of formalin and cyllin on the plague bacillus.
1953 R. W. Fairbrother Text-bk. Bacteriol. (ed. 7) vi. 64 In the Rideal–Walker test a standard culture of S. typhi is tested over given periods..against a 5 per cent. carbolic acid solution and various dilutions of the disinfectant.
1971 H. Chick et al. War on Dis. ix. 89 The errors in the Rideal–Walker test were avoided by the modifications introduced in the Chick–Martin technique.
2003 G. A. J. Ayliffe & M. P. English Hosp. Infection xi. 152 The phenol coefficient test (Rideal–Walker test) was introduced in 1903 and continued to be used by industry for most of the century.
2. Rideal–Walker coefficient n. a quantity expressing the germicidal efficiency of a disinfectant, as determined by the Rideal–Walker method.
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1907 S. Rideal & J. T. A. Walker in Lancet 6 Apr. 975/2 It has been found necessary to substitute the term ‘Rideal-Walker Coefficient’ for that originally introduced by us—viz., ‘Carbolic Acid Coefficient’.
1965 D. C. Turk & I. A. Porter Short Textbk. Microbiol. v. 27 The Rideal–Walker coefficient was at one time widely used as a measure of the potency of an antiseptic.
1984 Jrnl. Hygiene 92 200 The availability of domestic phenol disinfectants with Rideal Walker coefficients of greater than 4·6.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1904