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Sterilization can be defined as the act of completely destroying all living organisms on a surface. Using this definition, you can see that this is the most effective type of decontamination. Sterilization even destroys bacterial spores, which are the hardest to kill of any life form known to man.
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The most popular method of sterilization is the steam autoclave. The steam autoclave is very similar to a pressure cooker. Steam is injected into the autoclave chamber at very high pressure. When this is done, the extreme heat and pressure are able to get into every bit of surface area of the instruments or tools in the autoclave. When left in the autoclave for a sufficient amount of time, all living organisms will be killed.
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Another popular method of sterilization is the use of dry heat. While the steam autoclave is much like a pressure cooker, the use of dry heat is more like an oven. Objects or instruments are placed in an oven-like chamber and "cooked" until all living organisms are killed.
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Sanitization, which may also be called sanitation, is the lowest level of decontamination. Again, these terms are not interchangeable with sterilization.
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Sanitization may be defined as the act of significantly reducing the presence of pathogens on a surface. In the Lab, this is accomplished by cleaning instruments, countertops, etc. with soap or detergents.
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It is important to remember that sanitized surfaces will still contain pathogens after they have been washed regardless of how clean they may appear. You may feel that washing your hands with anti-bacterial soap is an excellent way of cleaning your skin and, indeed, this is a method of sanitization. However, regardless of how clean your hands may appear afterward, they are still covered with microorganisms that are found in the water.
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Disinfection
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Disinfection is the second of the three levels of decontamination. It falls below sterilization only due to the fact that disinfection does not kill all living micro-organisms (bacterial spores remain after this process). Disinfection controls micro-organisms on surfaces of instruments.
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Though disinfection does not destroy bacterial spores, it is the best line of defense against the spread of disease in the
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