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PHYSICAL AGENTS
Physical agents are usually preferred over chemical agents for performing sterilization. Heat is the method
of choice wherever possible. Both moist as well as dry heat can be applied.
Moist Heat
This is heating in the presence of water. The best and widely used examples of this technique are holder
method of Pasteurization where 60°C for 30 minutes is employed for sterilization and the 'flash'
modification of the same wherein objects are subjected to a temperature of 71.1°C for 15 seconds.
Tyndallization is another methodology in which steaming of the object is done for 30 minutes on each of
the 3 consecutive days. The principle is that spores which survived the heating process would germinate
before the next thermal exposure and would then be killed. Dry saturated steam acts as an excellent
agent for
sterilization because of:
· High temperature
· Wealth of latent heat
· Ability to form water of condensation
· Instantaneous contraction in volume that occurs during condensation.
Superheated steam is not that effective because it is hotter than dry saturated steam and the process is
akin to dry heat which is not as efficient as moist heat.
Autoclaves are designed upon the principles of moist heat. The ideal time-temperature relationship in
moist heat and dry sterilization processes are as follows:
Dry Heat
Dry heat is less efficient process than moist heat and bacterial spores are most resistant to it. Spores may
require a temperature of 140°C for three hours to get killed.
Dry heat can be used by following means:
• Incineration
• Red Heat
• Flaming
• Hot Air Sterilizers (Ovens)
Mechanism of Inactivation:
Microbial inactivation by dry heat is primarily an oxidation process. However, the possibility of DNA
damage is also now incriminated as one of the mechanisms. Dry heat is employed for sterilization of
glassware, glass syringes, oil and oily injections and metal instruments. The thermal death point is the
time required to kill all the bacteria in a particular culture at a specified temperature. The decimal
reduction time, also known as the DRT or D value, is the length of time needed to kill 90 per cent of the
organisms in a given population at a specified temperature.
Ionizing Radiations
Ionizing radiations include X-rays, gamma rays and beta rays. These can induce single stranded and
sometimes double stranded breakdown of DNA.
Ultraviolet Radiations
Bacterial spores are more resistant to UV rays than the vegetative cells. Even viruses are often more
resistant than vegetative bacteria. Whereas Sarcina lutea is highly sensitive to UV rays, Salmonella
typhimurium is moderately sensitive and organisms such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus and Proteus
vulgaris are mildly sensitive to the action of these rays.
Mechanism of Inactivation:
Because of the presence of UV rays, the sunlight has got bactericidal activity. Sunlight can inactivate even
spores provided the exposure is of prolonged duration. The desert surfaces are found to be sterile not only
because of immense dry heat but also because of prolonged exposure to UV rays present in the sunlight
Sterilization by Filtration
Several types of filters available are:
Unglazed ceramic filters: These are manufactured in different grades of porosity and used for large
scale clarification of water.
Asbestos filters: These filters have high adsorbing capacity but suffer from disadvantages of alkalinizing
the solutions and possible carcinogenesis.
Sintered glass filters: These contain finely powdered glass particles of different sizes-the size being
adjusted according to the required pore size. These are widely used nowadays and consist of cellulose
ester.
CHEMICAL AGENTS
chemical disinfectants are highly toxic for all types of the cells. Their efficacy, however, also depends upon
the conditions in which they are made to work like: Concentration of bactericidal agents, Time of
exposure, pH of the medium, Temperature of the medium, Nature of the targetted organisms and
Presence of extraneous materials etc. These include:
- Agents that Interfere with Membrane Function
- Surface Acting Agents
o Cationic Surface Acting Agents
o Anionic Surface Acting Agents
o Nonionic Surface Acting Agents
- Agents that Denature Proteins
- Agents that Destroy or Modify Functional Groups of Proteins
o Heavy Metals
o Oxidizing Agents
o Dyes
o Alkylating Agents
- Sterilants
IDEAL DISINFECTANT
Properties of an ideal disinfectant:
• Broad spectrum: Should always have the widest possible antimicrobial spectrum.
• Fast acting: should have a rapidly lethal action on all vegetative forms and spores of bacteria and
fungi, protozoa and viruses.
• Not affected by physical factors:
• Nontoxic
• Surface compatibility
• Residual effect on treated surfaces
• Easy to use
• Odorless: an inoffensive odor would facilitate its routine use.
• Economical: cost should not be prohibitively high.
Evaluation of Disinfectants
Phenol Coefficient Test: A phenol coefficient of 1.0 means that the disinfectant being compared has the
same effectiveness as phenol. A coefficient less than 1.0 means it is less effective; a coefficient greater
than 1.0 means it is more effective than phenol.
Kelsey-Sykes Test: This test measures the capacity of a disinfectant to retain its activity when repeatedly
used microbiologically.
Filter Paper Method: This method uses small filter paper discs, each soaked with a different chemical
agent. It is simpler than the determination of phenol coefficient.
In Use Dilution Test: It uses standard preparations of certain test bacteria. These bacteria are added to
tubes containing different dilutions of a chemical agent, the tubes are incubated, and then the tubes are
observed for the presence or absence of growth. Agents that prevent growth at the greatest dilutions are
considered most effective.
COMBINED TREATMENTS
Enhanced sterilizing activity can take place if two or more processes, chemical or physical, are employed
together. There are various kinds of such treatments.
• Thermochemical treatment
• Chemical treatment and irradiation
• Thermoradiation