Term
|
Definition
Droplets released into the air while flaming objects in the laboratory as these substances can be a means of spreading infectious agents if the organisms in them are not killed by incineration, as intended. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Disinfection agent used on skin or living tissue to reduce the number of pathogenic organisms on or in the tissue so they pose no threat of disease. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A machine effective at killing spores to sterilize equipment by heating water > 100 degrees C while maintaining a pressure of 15 lb/sq.inch above atmospheric pressure for 15 to 20 minutes. This forces the temperature to 121 degrees C. and kills spores, vegetative cells, and disrupts the structure of nucleic acids in viruses. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Bacteria killing cleaning agent |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When a antimicrobial agent inhibits the growth of bacteria rather than kill them. Sometimes this is a result of a lower concentration of a antimicrobial agent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Is the formation of a partial vacuum in a liquid - in context, the fluid cytoplasm in the bacterial cell. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Aka DRT or D value, is the length of time needed to kill 90% of the organisms in a given population at a specified temperature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A cleaning agent meant to reduce the number of pathogenic organisms on an inanimate object so that they pose no threat of disease. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Means to reduce the number of pathogenic organisms on object or in materials so that they pose no threat of disease. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A method of evaluating a chemical agent that uses a small filter paper disk soaked in a different chemical agent and placed on the surface of an agar plate that has been inoculated with a test organism. The clear area around the organism is where the organism has been killed by the chemical agent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The passage of a material through a filter, or straining device. Sterilization by filtration requires filters with exceedingly small pores, pore size depends on what is needed to be screened out. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Freeze-drying is the drying of a material from a frozen state used for long term preservation rather than the destruction of cultures of microorganisms. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A process invented by Pasteur to destroy organisms that caused wine to sour but does NOT achieve sterility. It kills Salmonella and Mycobacterium. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The result of the comparison of a disinfectant to the standard disinfectant phenol (carbolic acid) introduced by Lister in 1867 after they are tested under the same conditions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The loss of water from a cell that leads to its death due to a hyperosmotic medium which draws water from microorganism by osmosis. |
|
|
Term
Quaternary
ammonium
compound |
|
Definition
| Aka quats. A cationic detergent with four organic groups attached to a nitrogen atom. It is ineffective in the presence of soap, calcium or magnesium ions, or other porous substances. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A unit of radiation energy absorbed per gram of tissue. Ionizing radiation is a means of killing microorganisms. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The disruption of cells via sound waves BUT it is not used as a means to sterilize but rather to study cell fragments like membranes, ribosomes, enzymes, etc. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Means that there are no living organisms in or on a material. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The killing or removal of all microorganisms in a material or on an object. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A substance that reduces surface tension and dissolves lipids |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The temperature that kills all bacteria in a 24-hour-old broth culture at neutral pH in 10 minutes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The time required to kill all the bacteria in a particular culture at a specified temperature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An alcoholic solution, in this context, some metals like merthiolate (an organic mercury compound) are dissolved in alcohol to be used to disinfect. The metal does not kill spores. |
|
|
Term
| Ultrahigh temperature processing |
|
Definition
| (UHT) A way to process milk that sterilizes it without giving it a "cooked" flavor. It raises the milk's temperature from 74-140 degrees C and then drops it back to 74 degrees C in < 5 seconds. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A means to evaluate the quality of a chemical cleaning agent where a broth culture of a certain bacteria to be tested is coated onto a small stainless steel cylinder to dry. After drying it is dipped into a chemical for 10 minutes, removed, rinsed with water, and placed into a fresh tube of broth to observe it for signs or absence of growth. Many microbiologists prefer this method to the phenol coefficient. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A detergent solution often used with other chemical agents to penetrate fatty substances. May not affect the microbes but it can break up the fat that is keeping the disinfectant from reaching them to kill them. |
|
|
