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an organic compound containing a quaternary ammonium group, a nitrogen atom carrying a single positive charge bonded to four carbon atoms, e.g., choline.Medical dictionary. 2011.
quaternary ammonium compound — n. any of a class of compounds in which the four hydrogen atoms of the ammonium radical are replaced by other groups, generally organic radicals: used as solvents, disinfectants, etc … English World dictionary
quaternary ammonium compound — noun a compound derived from ammonium with hydrogen atoms replaced by organic groups; used as surface active agents, disinfectants, and in drugs • Hypernyms: ↑organic compound * * * noun also quaternary ( es) : any of a large class of strong… … Useful english dictionary
quaternary ammonium compound — Chem. any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants. Also called… … Universalium
quaternary ammonium compound — noun Date: circa 1934 any of numerous strong bases and their salts derived from ammonium by replacement of the hydrogen atoms with organic radicals and important especially as surface active agents, disinfectants, and drugs … New Collegiate Dictionary
quaternary ammonium compound — quat′ernary ammo′nium com pound n. chem. any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups; used as antiseptics and disinfectants • Etymology: 1815–25 … From formal English to slang
quaternary ammonium compound — noun any of a class of compounds with the general formula, R4N+, formally derived from ammonium hydroxide …
quaternary ammonium compound — noun An amine derivative, containing four radicals, of general formula RRRR NX; the radicals may be the same, different, or part of a ring; X is any univalent cation such as OH. See Also: primary amine, secondary amine, tertiary amine … Wiktionary
Quaternary ammonium muscle relaxants — are quaternary ammonium salts used as drugs for muscle relaxation, most commonly in anasthesia. It is necessary to prevent spontaneous movement of muscle during surgical operations. Muscle relaxants inhibit neuron transmission to muscle by… … Wikipedia
Quaternary ammonium cation — Quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively charged polyatomic ions of the structure NR4+ with R being alkyl groups. Unlike the ammonium ion NH4+ itself and primary, secondary, or tertiary ammonium cations, the quaternary… … Wikipedia
quaternary — 1. Denoting a chemical compound containing four elements; e.g., NaHSO4. Cf.:q. structure. 2. Fourth in a series. 3. Relating to organic compounds in which some central atom is attached to four functional groups; applied to the usually trivalent… … Medical dictionary
