Sterilisation Flashcards
What is sterilisation?
The killing or removal of all viable organisms within a growth medium
What is inhibition?
Effectively limiting microbial growth
What is decontamination?
The treatment of an object to make it safe to handle
What is disinfection?
Directly targets the removal of all pathogens, not necessarily all microorganisms
What is meant by the decimal reduction time?
The amount of time required to reduce viability tenfold
Endospores can be killed with heat. True or false?
False - can resist heat
What are the methods of heat sterilisation?
Red heat
Dry heat
Autoclaving
What is autoclaving?
Steam under pressure
Autoclaving doesn’t allow temp of water to exceed 100 degrees. True or false?
False
What is pasteurisation?
Process of using precisely controlled heat to reduce the microbial load in heat-sensitive liquids
In autoclaving - it is the pressure that kills the microorganisms. True or false?
False - it is the high temp
Pasteurisation kills all organisms. True or false?
False - that’s why it is different to sterilisation because it doesn’t kill all
UV has sufficient energy to cause modifications and breaks in DNA. True or false?
True
UV is useful for decontamination of surfaces. True or false?
True
What is ionising radiation?
Electromagnetic radiation that produce ions and other reactive molecules