Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group (–OH) is bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the predominant alcohol in alcoholic beverages.

Ethanol can be used as an antiseptic to disinfect the skin before injections are given, often along with iodine. Alcohol based gels have become common as hand sanitizers.

Alcohols have applications in industry and science as reagents or solvents.

Alcohol is often used to treat wounds. It can be used to kill insects. Ethanol is thought to cause harm partly as a result of direct damage to DNA caused by its metabolites. Ethanol's toxicity is largely caused by its primary metabolite, acetaldehyde (systematically ethanal) and secondary metabolite, acetic acid.