hexamidine hexamidine hexamidine is an antiseptic and disinfectant. hexomedine is the trade name of a diisethionate solution (1/1.000) of hexamidine. hexamidine is used primarily as its diisethionate salt, which is more water-soluble than the dihydrochloride. the dihydrochloride was first synthesized and patented as a trypanocide for may & baker in 1939. its amoebicidal properties emerged in the 1990s. the exact mechanism of its biocidal action is unknown, but presumed similar to quaternary ammonium compounds, involving binding to the negatively charged lipid membranes of pathogens. hexamidine and its shorter congener, propamidine, are used as antiseptics and preservatives in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. they are particularly used for the topical treatment of acanthamoebiasis (acanthamoeba keratitis). hexamidine names preferred iupac name 4,4′-di(benzene-1-carboximidamide) other names 4-benzamidine identifiers cas number 3811-75-4 y 3d model (jsmol) interactive image chebi chebi:87184 n chembl chembl25105 y chemspider 58639 y drugbank db03808 y pubchem cid 65130 unii 3483c2h13h y comptox dashboard (epa) dtxsid60191524 inchi inchi=1s/c20h26n4o2/c21-19(22)15-5-9-17(10-6-15)25-13-3-1-2-4-14-26-18-11-7-16(8-12-18)20(23)24/h5-12h,1-4,13-14h2,(h3,21,22)(h3,23,24) ykey: oqlkntokmbvbkv-uhfffaoysa-n yinchi=1/c20h26n4o2/c21-19(22)15-5-9-17(10-6-15)25-13-3-1-2-4-14-26-18-11-7-16(8-12-18)20(23)24/h5-12h,1-4,13-14h2,(h3,21,22)(h3,23,24)key: oqlkntokmbvbkv-uhfffaoyaw smiles o(c1ccc(cc1)c(=)n)ccccccoc2ccc(c(=)n)cc2 properties chemical formula c20h26n4o2 molar mass 354.446 pharmacology atc code d08ac04 (who) r01ax07 (who) r02aa18 (who) s01ax08 (who) s03aa05 (who) except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °c , 100 kpa). n verify (what is yn ?) infobox references