Chapter 7
The Control Of Microbial Growth
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Physical Methods of Microbial Control
1. Temperature
At low temperatures, metabolic rate of most microbes is so reduced that
they cannot reproduce or synthesize toxins
Refrigerators (0-7°C) are good place to keep food from spoiling
There is always an exception!
Psychrotrophs do grow slowly at refrigerator temperatures and will
alter appearance and taste of food
Some bacteria can grow at temperatures as low as -2°C!
At high temperatures, enzymes are destroyed leading to cell death
Types of techniques implementing heat to kill microbes:
Moist Heat Sterilization
Dry Heat Sterilization
Pasteurization
Sterilization
There is always an exception!
Thermophiles can grow at very high temperatures!
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Physical Methods of Microbial Control
Moist Heat Sterilization
Use of vapor
Requires high temperature
Ex: autoclave
Dry Heat Sterilization
Use of flame
Requires high temperature
Ex: flaming, use of oven
Pasteurization
Practical method of preventing the spoilage of beverage and food
Temperature is high enough to kill microbes without
affecting/damaging the product
Filtration
Passage of a liquid or gas through screenlike material to trap the
microorganisms
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Physical Methods of Microbial Control
2. Osmotic pressure
High concentrations of salt or sugar are used to preserve
food
Creates hypertonic environment that causes water to
leave the microbial cell (cell shrinks and dies!)
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Physical Methods of Microbial Control
3. Radiation
has various effects on cells, depending on its wavelength and
exposure time
Ionizing radiation (X rays, gamma rays, electron beams)
Ionizes water to release highly reactive hydroxyl radicals
Damages DNA
Used to sterilize pharmaceuticals and disposable dental and
medical supplies (syringes, surgical gloves, catheters)
Nonionizing radiation (UV)
Causes bonds to form between adjacent thymines (T)
Damages DNA
“germicidal lamps are commonly found in hospital rooms,
nurseries or operating rooms
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Chemical Methods of Microbial Control
Chemical agents are used to control the growth of
microbes on both nonliving objects and living
tissues
Disinfection: killing pathogens on inanimate objects
Disinfectant – clorox, alcohol (chemical form)
UV light (physical form)
• Antisepsis: killing pathogens from living tissue
Antiseptic – alcohol, iodine (chemical form)
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Chemical Methods of Microbial Control
Different types of antimicrobial chemicals have
different effects on the microorganism
Alteration of membrane permeability
Membranes actively regulate what comes in and out of the cell
Damage to the lipids or proteins that make up plasma membrane causes
cellular contents to leak out
Damage to proteins
Enzymes (proteins) are vital to all cellular activities
Damage to enzymes affects metabolic pathways
Examples of antimicrobial chemicals:
Iodine
Alter protein synthesis and membranes
Chlorine, hydrogen peroxide
Oxidizing agents
Ethanol, isopropanol
Denature proteins, dissolve lipids
Antibiotics
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chemical Methods of Microbial Control
How to determine effectiveness of disinfectants and antiseptics?
Dilution test – tells you how much of given antimicrobial chemical is needed
to kill the microorganism
Obtain small amount of microorganisms and expose it to recommended
concentration of antimicrobial chemical. Transfer the microorganisms to
the growth medium to see if it survives the treatment
Disk diffusion method – tells you which antimicrobial chemical works best
against specific microoganism
A disk of filter paper is soaked with a antimicrobial chemical and placed
on an agar plate that has ben previously inoculated and incubated with
test organism
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The Rate of Microbial Death
Effectiveness of treatment depends on:
Number of microbes
The more microbes there are to start with, the longer it takes to
eliminate the entire population
Environment (organic matter – blood, vomit; temperature; biofilms)
Antimicrobial chemicals can get diluted or inhibited in organic
matter
Most antimicrobial chemicals work better in warm solutions
Time of exposure
More resistant microbes require more longer exposure to the
antimicrobial treatment
Concentration of the antimicrobial chemical
High concentration can kill more microbes in short period of time
Microbial characteristics
Next slide
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Microbial Characteristics and Microbial
Control
Figure 7.11
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The Rate of Microbial Death
When bacterial populations are heated or treated
with chemicals, they usually die at a constant rate
For example: a population of 1million
microbes has been treated for 1min,
and 90% of the population has died.
We are now left with 100,000 microbes.
If you treat 100,000 microbes for
another minute, 90% of them will die
and you are going to be left with
10,000.
The point is that microbes
die at constant rate!
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The Terminology of Microbial Control
Germicide (biocide) refers to killing of
microorganisms
Fungicide – kills fungi
Virucide – inactivates viruses
Bacteriostasis – inhibit growth of bacteria
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