Primary mechanisms of action for microbicide products with selected examples
| Mechanism of action | Example products* | Phase in trials |
|---|---|---|
| *See Alliance for Microbicide Development website for complete list of candidate microbicides and further description of potential mechanisms of action (www.microbicide.org) | ||
| Disruption/inactivation of pathogen | Sodium lauryl sulfate (“Invisible Condom”) | 1/2 |
| (surfactants) | C31G (Savvy) | 3 |
| Strengthening of vaginal defence system | BufferGel | 2/2B |
| Lactobacillus crispatus suppository (Lactin vaginal capsule) | 2 | |
| Acidform/Amphora | 1 | |
| Inhibit infection and/or uptake by target cells via cell surface receptors | Carrageenan (Carraguard) | 3 |
| Naphthalene sulfonate polymer (PRO2000) | 2/2B | |
| dextrin-2 sulfate (Emmelle) | 3 | |
| Cellulose sulfate | 3 | |
| Prevent systemic infection after local | Tenofovir (PMPA) | 1 (2 planned) |
| infection of target cells | UC-781 | 1 |
| TMC 120 | preclinical | |