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# Chapter 11 Notes **Contaminants**: Microbes present at a place and time that are undesirable or unwanted. **Decontamination Methods**: Employ either physical agents or chemical agents. **Microbial Groups**: Microbes are divided into 3 groups based on resistance: * **Highest resistance** * **Mo...

# Chapter 11 Notes **Contaminants**: Microbes present at a place and time that are undesirable or unwanted. **Decontamination Methods**: Employ either physical agents or chemical agents. **Microbial Groups**: Microbes are divided into 3 groups based on resistance: * **Highest resistance** * **Moderate resistance** * **Least resistance** **Sterilization**: The process that destroys or removes all viable microorganisms, including viruses. It is either sterile or not almost sterile. **Stasis/Static**: Means to stand still. **Microbistasis**: When microbes are temporarily prevented from multiplying but not killed. **Bacteriostatic Agents**: Prevent the growth of bacteria. **Disinfection**: The use of a physical process or a chemical agent to destroy vegetative pathogens but not bacterial endospores. **Antiseptics**: Applied directly to exposed skin. **Sanitization**: A cleansing technique that removes debris, soil, microorganisms, and toxins. **Degermation**: Reduction in microbial load in living tissues through mechanical means. **Microbial Death**: Defined as the permanent loss of reproductive capacity, even under optimal growth conditions. **Surfactants**: Act as microbicidal agents by lowering the surface tension of cell membranes. **Microbial Life**: Depends on an orderly and continuous supply of proteins to function as enzymes and structural molecules. Any chemical that blocks this process can affect function and survival.