Disinfection Flashcards
Definition of Disinfection
process that eliminates many/all pathogenic microorganism except bacterial spores, on inanimate object
Definition of sterilisation
process that destroys/eliminates all forms of microbial life including spores
definition of cleaning
removal of visible soil (eg organic & inorganic matter), manually or mechanically using water with detergents or enzymatic products
definition of decontamination
removes pathogenic microorganisms from objects so that they are safe to use, handle & discard
high level vs low level disinfectant?
- high level disinfectant can kill all microorganisms except spores in a shorter period of time
- low level disinfectant kill vegetative bacteria, some fungi & virus when applied for a practical period of time (<10mins)
what is the active component in disinfectants that kill microorganisms
biocides
describe the spectrum of activity of biocides
broad spectrum of activity, have multiple targets
factors affecting efficacy of disinfectant
- no & level of microbes
- concentration & potency of disinfectants
- innate resistance of microbes
- exposure time
- physical & chemical factors - pH, temp, water hardness, relative humidity
- biofilm
- presence if inorganic & organic matters
alcohol moa
denature proteins, activity increase with water
inhibit production of essential metabolites require for rapid cell division
what is the optimal concentration for alcohol to work as disinfectant?
60-90%
uses of alcohol
antisepsis, disinfectant, preservatives
what is the spectrum of activity of alcohol
bactericidal, sporicidal, fungicidal, tuberculocidal
disadvantage of alcohol
volatile - short contact time
microbicidal activity affected by presence of organic matter
not sporicidal
ammonia moa
saponifying lipids within enveloped of microorganism
what to be cautious of for ammonia?
do not combine with chlorine, produce chloramine which is toxic
