Hydrogen peroxide kills Staphylococcus aureus by reacting with staphylococcal iron to form hydroxyl radical.

Two lines of investigation supported the premise that killing of Staphylococcus aureus, 502A, by hydrogen peroxide involves formation of the more toxic hydroxyl radical (.OH) through the iron-dependent Fenton reaction. First, growing S. aureus overnight in broth media with increasing concentrations of iron increased their content of iron and dramatically enhanced their subsequent susceptibility to killing by H2O2. Second, in direct relation to their effectiveness as .OH scavengers, thiourea, dimethyl thiourea, sodium benzoate, and dimethyl sulfoxide inhibited H2O2-mediated killing of S. aureus.