Sterilization is necessary for some items such as surgical instruments or machine parts that produce injectable drugs. Chemical sterilization involves the use of a chemical that is toxic to microbes. Liquid and gaseous form chemicals may be used. Risks include toxicity to humans through skin and inhalation.
Sterilization is a method of ensuring that an object or surface is completely free of microbial life. Normally, a low level of microbial contamination is not a problem, but for some items such as surgical instruments or machine parts that produce injectable drugs, this extreme level of cleanliness is necessary to prevent infection. Chemical sterilization involves the use of a chemical that is toxic to microbes to sterilize items.
For an object to be sterile, all microbes on it must be dead. This is in contrast to a clean item, or one that has been treated with an antiseptic or disinfectant, as some microbes may remain in these cases. Sterilization is often done using a machine that can expose items to high temperatures and possibly even high pressures. Examples include ovens, which produce dry heat, and autoclaves, which produce hot steam under high pressure.
While these types of sterilization are the most efficient when compared to other forms, they are impractical in some cases. Objects made of metal or glass survive the dry heat of an oven, but plastic melts and organic matter can burn. The plastic can go through an autoclave cycle without damage, but other steam sterilizers can melt the plastic. Sterilizers that use ultraviolet light can also be useful, although this technique only kills microbes that are directly exposed to ultraviolet light.
To get around these disadvantages, chemical sterilization is sometimes the only option. Both liquid form chemicals and gaseous form chemicals may be suitable for the process. Before chemical sterilization, the equipment must be cleaned of dirt, to prevent microbes from surviving behind a protective layer of dirt.
Liquid sterilants take time to work and this can be much longer than the time required for dry heat, ultraviolet or steam sterilization. This can take hours or days to work effectively, as some microbial species form structures called spores, which are very tough and resist being killed in a short period of time. Typically, equipment, such as surgical instruments, are completely immersed in the sterilizing liquid. Examples of possible liquid chemicals include formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde.
Chemical gas sterilizations involve saturating an area or equipment with gas that is toxic to microbes. This also takes time to work. Examples of chemicals that can be used in gaseous form are formaldehyde and ethylene oxide. The risks of chemical sterilization include toxicity to humans through skin and inhalation.
Chemical sterilization can also refer to a method of sterilizing animals. In this situation, a veterinarian injects a chemical into a male animal’s testicles that damages the testicles enough to prevent the animal from producing sperm. Compared to surgical sterilization, however, chemical sterilization is rare.
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