#2 CH.11- Controlling Microbes

Sterilization v.s Disinfection

• sterile: to get rid of ALL microbes

  • not all needles need to be sterilized to use on patients

  • most of the time if not heat → sterilized in autoclave

• disinfection: REDUCES the amount of microbes

Decontamination

• relocating microbes elsewhere

  • EX: using soap & water to MOVE microbes from water to drain

Sanitization

• public health seal of approval

Antisepsis

• antimicrobial

• free of UNWANTED MICROBES | contaminant free

  • EX: using alcohol wipe to clean injected area

Antimicrobial Agent

DEPENDS ON WHAT JOB IS NEEDED

• Microbicidal: kills microbes

  v.s

• Microbistatic: stops microbial growth

• Broad Spectrum: targets a lot of microbes

  v.s

• Narrow Spectrum: targets specific microbes

Main Factors of Antimicrobial Agent Effectiveness

depends on…

• Exposure Time

• Concentration of Agent

  • we use alcohol in concentrated amounts

• Microbial Load

  • # of microbes

Smaller Factors of Antimicrobial Agent Effectiveness

• temperature

• local environment (pH, organic matter, etc)

• growth phase of microbes

• differences in species’ susceptibility

• mechanism of action of agent, etc…