Disinfection and Sterilisation

Key points

• • Sterilisation destroys all forms of microbial life including spores, while disinfection removes most harmful germs but not always spores.
• • Physical methods include heat, such as the autoclave, which uses steam under pressure to sterilise instruments, and boiling for lower-level disinfection.
• • Chemical disinfectants include alcohols, chlorine solutions and phenolic compounds, chosen to suit the surface or the instrument.
• • Antiseptics are chemicals mild enough to use on living skin, unlike the stronger disinfectants used on objects.
• • The right method depends on the item and the risk, so items that enter sterile parts of the body must be fully sterilised.