The first mechanism by which antimicrobial agents work is the use of antibiotics. According to the nature of the action of antibiotics on bacteria they can be divided into two groups: bacteriostatic antibiotics and bactericidal antibiotics. Bacteriostatic are able to decrease the quantity of microbes, but they are unable to kill all of them. However, in higher concentrations bacteriostatic antibiotics can also have a bactericidal effect.
The next mechanism is temperature effects, which for the most part is used for sterilization – complete removal of microorganisms from various media and disinfection of objects. Many sterilization regimes have been developed; it should be remembered that heat treatment is applicable only to heat-resistant materials, for example, glass, metals (Sass, 2018). The simplest and most accessible methods are incineration and boiling.
The third method is treatment by radiation, an alternative to disinfection by gas. This method applies to all objects that do not change their properties under the influence of radiation. Two types of radiation – gamma and beta – are used for this treatment. In most cases, cobalt-60 isotope is used for sterilization, which forms an optimal spectrum (Sass, 2018). Finally, antiseptic is one of the most widespread and accessible methods of treatment and prevention of local infectious processes and sepsis. Currently used antiseptics can be divided into three groups according to their source: l) chemical elements and their inorganic derivatives; 2) bioorganic compounds and their synthetic derivatives; 3) organic compounds of abiogenic nature (Sass, 2018). Examples of antiseptic effects are halogens and their non-organic derivatives, hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, boric acid and borates.
As part of sterilization, which involves the widespread destruction of microbes, burning in the flame of a burner or spittoon is the most effective. This method destroys not only plant cells but also microorganism spores, allowing the object to be completely desquamated. Bacterial analysis uses loops, spatulas, slides, coverslips, and other small instruments.
Reference
Sass, P. (2018). Antibiotics: Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology.