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Germ theory of disease

A theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases.

Sterilization

The process of eliminating all forms of microbial life, including spores.

Commercial sterilization

A process that eliminates all pathogens and reduces the number of spoilage organisms to a safe level for food preservation.

Disinfection

The process of eliminating or reducing harmful microorganisms from inanimate objects.

Disinfectant

A chemical agent used to destroy or inhibit the growth of harmful organisms on inanimate surfaces.

Antisepsis

The process of preventing infection by inhibiting the growth of pathogens on living tissues.

Antiseptic agent

A substance that prevents the growth of disease-causing microorganisms.

Decontamination

The process of removing or neutralizing contaminants that may cause harm.

De-germing

The process of removing microbes from a surface by scrubbing or washing.

Sanitation

The process of reducing the number of pathogens to a safe level.

Suffix '-cide'

Indicates a substance that kills a specific type of microorganism.

Suffix '-static'

Indicates a substance that inhibits the growth of microorganisms without necessarily killing them.

Fomites

Inanimate objects that can carry infectious agents.

Factors influencing microbial agent effectiveness

Factors such as concentration, exposure time, temperature, and the presence of organic matter that affect how well a microbial agent works.

Microbial control agents

Agents that kill or inhibit the growth of microbes through mechanisms like altering cell membrane permeability, disrupting cell walls, damaging proteins, and damaging nucleic acids.

Physical methods of microbial control

Methods such as heat, filtration, and radiation used to control microbial growth.

Heat control of microorganisms

The use of heat to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms.

Dry-heat vs. moist-heat

Dry heat uses hot air to kill microorganisms, while moist heat uses steam or boiling water.

Pasteurization

A heating process used to kill pathogens in food and beverages without affecting taste.

High-pressure control of microorganisms

The use of high pressure to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms.

Autoclave

A device that uses steam under pressure to sterilize equipment and materials.

Low temperature control of microorganisms

The use of refrigeration or freezing to slow down or stop microbial growth.

Desiccation

The process of drying out to inhibit microbial growth.

Filtration

A method of removing microorganisms from liquids or air by passing them through a filter.

High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter

A type of air filter that can trap very small particles, including bacteria and viruses.

Ionizing radiation

Radiation that can remove tightly bound electrons from atoms, leading to DNA damage in microorganisms.

Nonionizing radiation

Radiation that does not have enough energy to remove electrons but can cause DNA damage through other mechanisms.

Chemical disinfectants

Substances used to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms on surfaces.

Surfactants

Compounds that lower the surface tension between two substances, helping to remove microbes.

Detergents

Surfactants used for cleaning, which can be cationic or anionic based on their charge.

Acid anionic sanitizers

Sanitizers that are effective against a wide range of microorganisms and work by disrupting cell membranes.

Phenolics

Chemical compounds used as disinfectants that disrupt cell membranes and denature proteins.

Heavy metals

Metals that can kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms by binding to proteins.

Mercury, silver, and copper

Examples of heavy metals used for their antimicrobial properties.

Halogens

Elements like chlorine and iodine that are used as disinfectants.

Iodine

A halogen used to control microbes by disrupting protein synthesis.

Chlorine

A halogen used to disinfect water and surfaces by forming reactive compounds.

Alcohols

Chemical compounds used as disinfectants that denature proteins and dissolve lipids.

Essential oils

Natural extracts with antimicrobial properties used to control microbial growth.

Aldehydes

Chemical compounds used as disinfectants that cross-link proteins and nucleic acids.

Chemical food preservatives

Substances added to food to prevent spoilage and inhibit microbial growth.

Peroxygens

Compounds that release oxygen and can be used as disinfectants.

Antimicrobial drugs

Medications used to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms.

Modes of action of antimicrobial drugs

The various ways antimicrobial drugs exert their effects on microorganisms.

Antibiotic

A type of antimicrobial drug that specifically targets bacterial infections.

Antibiotic

A substance that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms.

Antibiotic resistance

The ability of bacteria to withstand the effects of an antibiotic.

Bacterial cells passing on antibiotic resistance

The process by which bacteria transfer genetic material that confers resistance to antibiotics to other bacterial cells.

Disinfection

The process of eliminating most or all pathogens, except bacterial spores, from inanimate objects.

Degerming

The process of removing microbes from a limited area, such as skin, through scrubbing or washing.

Sanitization

The process of reducing the number of pathogens to a safe level, as determined by public health standards.

Biocide

A chemical agent that kills living organisms.

Germicide

A substance that kills germs, particularly pathogenic microorganisms.

Bacteriostasis

The inhibition of bacterial growth without killing the bacteria.

Asepsis

The absence of pathogenic microorganisms.

Patterns of microbial death

The predictable decline in the number of viable microorganisms following exposure to antimicrobial agents.

Effects of microbial control agents

The impact that agents have on cellular structures, leading to cell death or inhibition of growth.

Moist heat vs dry heat

Moist heat methods (boiling, autoclaving, pasteurization) are generally more effective than dry heat in killing microorganisms.

Microbial growth suppression methods

Techniques such as filtration, low temperatures, high pressure, desiccation, and osmotic pressure that inhibit microbial growth.

Radiation killing cells

The process by which radiation damages cellular structures, leading to cell death.

Use-dilution tests

A method to determine the effectiveness of a disinfectant by diluting it and testing its ability to kill bacteria.

Disk diffusion method

A technique used to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents by measuring the zone of inhibition around a disk.

Chemical disinfectants

Agents used to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms on inanimate surfaces.

Halogens as antiseptics vs disinfectants

Halogens used as antiseptics are applied to living tissues, while those used as disinfectants are applied to inanimate objects.

Surface-active agents

Compounds that reduce surface tension and can be used to enhance the effectiveness of disinfectants.

Advantages of glutaraldehyde

Glutaraldehyde is effective at low concentrations and has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity compared to other disinfectants.

Microbe type and control

The effectiveness of microbial control methods can vary based on the type of microbe being targeted.

Microbial traits controlled by DNA

Traits such as metabolic pathways, resistance to antibiotics, and virulence factors are determined by genetic information.

Genotype vs phenotype

Genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an organism, while phenotype refers to the observable characteristics resulting from the genotype.

Central dogma

The framework explaining the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein.

DNA replication

The process by which a cell duplicates its DNA before cell division.

Gene expression

The process by which information from a gene is used to synthesize a functional gene product, typically a protein.

Transcription

The process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA template.

Translation

The process of synthesizing proteins from an mRNA template.

Location of replication, transcription, and translation

In prokaryotic cells, these processes occur in the cytoplasm, while in eukaryotic cells, replication and transcription occur in the nucleus and translation occurs in the cytoplasm.

Nucleotide structure

Nucleotides consist of a sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base, with specific carbon locations identified.

Bond between nucleotides

Phosphodiester bonds form between the 3' hydroxyl group of one nucleotide and the 5' phosphate group of another.

Antiparallel DNA strands

DNA strands run in opposite directions, meaning one strand runs 5' to 3' while the complementary strand runs 3' to 5'.

Base-pairing rules

Adenine pairs with thymine, and cytosine pairs with guanine in DNA.

Determining DNA strand ends

The 5' end of a DNA strand has a phosphate group, while the 3' end has a hydroxyl group.

Semi-discontinuous DNA replication

A process where one strand (leading) is synthesized continuously, while the other (lagging) is synthesized in short segments.

Template reading direction

During DNA replication, the template strand is read in the 3' to 5' direction, and the new strand is synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction.

Replication fork

The Y-shaped region where the DNA double helix is unwound during replication.

Leading vs lagging strand

The leading strand is synthesized continuously, while the lagging strand is synthesized in short fragments called Okazaki fragments.

Okazaki fragments

Short segments of DNA synthesized on the lagging strand during DNA replication.

Primers

Short nucleic acid sequences required to initiate DNA synthesis; they provide a starting point for DNA polymerase.

Events at the DNA replication fork

Involves unwinding the DNA, synthesizing new strands, and the action of various enzymes such as helicase and DNA polymerase.

Enzymes in DNA replication

Proteins that facilitate the processes of unwinding, synthesizing, and proofreading DNA during replication.

Replication

The process of duplicating DNA.

Transcription

The synthesis of RNA from a DNA template.

Translation

The process of synthesizing proteins from mRNA.

Gene Expression

The process by which information from a gene is used to synthesize a functional gene product, typically protein.

Recombination

The process by which genetic material is physically mixed during meiosis or other processes.

DNA Replication

The process of producing two identical replicas from one original DNA molecule.

Nucleotides

The basic building blocks of nucleic acids, consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Antiparallel

Refers to the opposite orientation of the two strands of DNA.

Base-Pairing Rules

The rules that describe how nucleotide bases bond to one another: adenine pairs with thymine, and cytosine pairs with guanine.

5' and 3' Ends

The ends of a DNA strand that are determined by the orientation of the sugar-phosphate backbone.

Semi-Discontinuous DNA Replication

A method of DNA replication where one strand is synthesized continuously and the other is synthesized in short fragments.

Replication Fork

The area where the DNA double helix is unwound to allow for replication.