Professional Documents
Culture Documents
7 Chapter VIII Disinfection, Decontamination and Sterilization
7 Chapter VIII Disinfection, Decontamination and Sterilization
DISINFECTION ,
DECONTAMINATION
AND STERILIZATION
1
Disinfection , decontamination and
sterilization
Learning objectives
3
Disinfection: Destruction of microbes that cause
disease; may not be effective in killing spores.
Antisepsis: destruction or inhibition of micro-
organisms growth on living tissue there by limiting or
preventing harmful effect of infection
Sterilization: is the destruction or complete removal
of all forms of micro-organisms including their
spores. 4
The agents, which are used for sterilization and
disinfection,
can be divided into two broad groups:
I. Chemical means’s of sterilization & disinfection
II. Physical means’s of sterilization & disinfection
I. Chemical Means’s of sterilization and disinfection
These chemical agents destroy any type of microbes with
out showing any form of selectivity unlike antibiotics.
5
The efficacy of these agents depends on the following
factors.
1. Concentration of agent
There is a relationship between the concentration of the
agent and the time required to kill a given fraction of the
microbial population.
2. Time of exposure
Microbes are killed with a reasonable length of time with
chemical agents. 6
3.pH of the medium
The hydrogen ion concentration determines degree of
ionization of the chemical and bacterial surface charge.
The non-ionized form passes though the bacterial cell
membrane more readily than the ionized form.
4. Temperature
Bactericidal potency of the chemical agent increases with an
increase in temperature.
7
5. Nature of the organism
Species of the bacteria
blood or
9
Classification of Chemical Mean’s of
Sterilization and Disinfection
1. Chemical agents that damage the cell membrane
Surface Active Agents
Phenols
Organic solvents .
2. Chemical agents that denature proteins
Acids and Alkalis
3. Chemical agents that modify functional groups of proteins
and nucleic acids
Heavy metals
Oxidizing agents
Dyes 10
Alkylating agents
1. Chemical Agents that Damage the cell Membrane
A. Cationic agents
Quaternary ammonium compounds (Quates)
It causes loss of cell membrane semi permeability leading
to loss of nutrients and essential metabolites
It can also denature protein.
Acids like benzoic acid, citric acid and acetic acid are
helpful as food preservatives: extending storage life
of food products.
13
3. Chemical agents that modify functional groups of
proteins and nucleic acids
3.1 Heavy metals
Various metals and metal salts are commonly
employed to prevent microbial growth or kill
microbes
Mercury compounds
e.g. mercuric chloride- limited use because of its
toxicity.
- It can be used as antiseptics.
e.g. Merthiolate
14
Silver compounds
- Hydrogen peroxide 15
Uses:
Hypochlorite: sanitizing dairy and food processing
industries, households and hospitals.
Organic or inorganic chloramines: Is effective water
disinfectant acting by liberating chlorine.
Iodine: effective skin disinfectant.
Hydrogen peroxide (3%): Used for cleansing of wound,
disinfecting medical-surgical devices and plastic contact
16
lenses.
3.3 Dyes
Example:
Malachite green
Brilliant green
Crystal violet/gentian violet
Uses:
Highly selective for Gram-positive bacteria.
For treatment of dermatological lesions. 17
A. Formaldehyde
Uses:
Preservation of fresh tissues.
A. Incineration
temperature.
B. Flaming
Scalpels , neck of flasks, bottles and tubes are exposed for a few
seconds, but it is of uncertain efficacy. 21
C. Red heat
22
D. Hot air sterilizer (hot air oven/ dry oven)
It is essential that hot air should circulate between the objects
Use:
24
B. Tyndallization (Intermittent steaming)
Steaming of the material is done at 100 0C for 30 minutes on
three consecutive days.
would be killed.
25
C. Pasteurization:
Uses:
Pasteurization of milk.
26
Preparation of bacterial vaccines.
D. Autoclave (Steam under pressure)
It is based on the principle that when micro-organism is boiled
A. Freezing
30
C. Filtration
Liquids and gases can be sterilized by passing them
through filters. Filters that have pores smaller than
the size of the microbes retain micro-organisms.
The filter acts as a strainer, a microbial sieve.
Standard bacteriological membrane filters are
composed of nitrocellulose and have pore diameters
of 0.45 µm, small enough to prevent passage of most
31
bacteria.
Uses :
Preparing heat-labile culture media components
Preparing pharmaceuticals and biological solutions
Microbial evaluation of water purity
Bacterial viability count
Determination of viral particle size
32
C. Radiation
Gamma rays, x-rays, beta rays, cosmic rays, ultraviolet light,
and even visible light are all forms of radiation. When these rays
33
1. Ionizing Radiation
Some rays possess so much energy that they cause
biologically active molecules to lose electrons. This
results in production of ionised molecules that no longer
perform critical cellular functions.
Such high energy ionising radiation is an effective
sterilizing agent. e.g. Gamma rays, beta rays and x-rays
induce break down of single stranded or some times
double stranded DNA. 34
2. Ultraviolet Radiation
It has less quantum energy with low penetrating than
ionic radiation.
Cellular DNA absorbs the energy of radiation at
wavelengths between 250 and 260 nm and forms aberrant
chemical bonds between adjacent thymine nucleotide
bases.
These thymine dimmers distort the DNA strands and impair
replication and transcription. This interferes with the expression
of genes and DNA replication is blocked.
35
Uses:
36
4. Methods of controlling sterilization
Recording of temperature, time and pressure of each sterilizing cycle
38
Sterilization & disinfection
39
Spaulding Classification of Disinfection
•Chemical Germicide Activity Level:
1. High Level Disinfection
• Comprises high concentrations of chemical germicides (ex:
concentrated sodium hypochlorite).
• Kills vegetative microorganisms and inactivates viruses
• Does not kill high numbers of bacterial spores
• High level disinfectants are typically used for short time periods
(10-30 min) for disinfection purposes, but may achieve
sterilization if left in contact with the surface for long time
periods (6-10 hours).
• Not for use on environmental surfaces like floors or lab benches 40
2.. Intermediate Level Disinfection
• Kills vegetative microorganisms, including Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, all fungi, and inactivates most viruses
• EPA Approved Hospital Disinfectants which are also
tuberculocidal fall into this category
• May be used for housekeeping and disinfection of laboratory
benches
3. Low Level Disinfection
• Kills most vegetative bacteria, some fungi, and inactivates some
viruses.
• Does not kill M. tuberculosis
• Also known as “hospital disinfectants” or “sanitizer
41
42