disinfection and sterilization Flashcards
what is decontamination/sanitization?
making safe to handle by removing soilage and proteinaceous material/burden of microorganisms
what is disinfection?
reduces microorganism level by logarithmic death rate via denaturation (alcohol) or membrane damage (detergents)
what are the methods of disinfection?
chemically (antisepsis or disinfectant)
pasteurization
preservation
what do low level disinfectants kill?
vegatative bacteria (not spores), enveloped viruses, most fungi
what are the types of low/medium level disinfectants?
phenols
alchohols
oxidizing agents
hydroen peroxide
quaternary ammonium
heavy metels
what are phenol based disinfectants?
- use non-toxic phenolics (altered)
- disrupt membranes and precipitate proteins
what are alchohol disinfectants?
- usually proponal
- denatures protein over time
70% concentration is most efficient
what are ozidizing agents
- disinfectant halogens like bleach
- inactivated by organic material
- activity drops after opening
what are quaternary ammoniums?
disinfectants that disrupt membrnaes and are often used for environmental cleaning
what are heavy metels?
copper/silver/lead used in medical devices and ointments
what do high level disinfectants kill?
spores, viruses, bacilli
what are examples of high level disinfectants
chemical - peracetic/performic acid, H2O2, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, orth-paraldehyde,
uv - 254 wavelength
antispetics
what is sterilization?
kills all viable organisms (except prions)
what are the types of sterilization?
heat - dry (oven) or moist (autoclave)
irritation or filtration
chemicals: ethylene oxide, aldehydes, ozone, peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide
who is spaulding?
created the spaulding classificaiton of disinfecting
