Question:
What is the main, rapid mechanism behind the sterilizing effect of an autoclave?
What is the main, rapid mechanism behind the sterilizing effect of an autoclave?
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An autoclave sterilizes using moist heat — saturated steam under pressure (typically 121°C at 15 psi).
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Oxidation of cell components
- Disruption of the cell membrane
- Coagulation and denaturation of proteins
- Denaturation of nucleic acids
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Concept:
An autoclave sterilizes using moist heat — saturated steam under pressure (typically 121°C at 15 psi). Moist heat is much more efficient than dry heat at killing microbes, and we need to know exactly how it destroys them.
Step 1: When wet steam contacts a microbial cell, the heat and water together act on the cell's proteins. Proteins lose their precise three-dimensional shape and clump together — this is denaturation followed by coagulation. Since enzymes and structural proteins are essential for life, this irreversibly kills the organism quickly.
Step 2: The other options describe different mechanisms used by other agents. Oxidation is how agents like hydrogen peroxide or ethylene oxide act, membrane disruption is typical of surfactants and some disinfectants, and nucleic-acid damage is more the action of UV radiation — none of these is the chief rapid mechanism of moist-heat autoclaving.
Answer: Option (3) — the autoclave works mainly by coagulation and denaturation of proteins. (3)
An autoclave sterilizes using moist heat — saturated steam under pressure (typically 121°C at 15 psi). Moist heat is much more efficient than dry heat at killing microbes, and we need to know exactly how it destroys them.
Step 1: When wet steam contacts a microbial cell, the heat and water together act on the cell's proteins. Proteins lose their precise three-dimensional shape and clump together — this is denaturation followed by coagulation. Since enzymes and structural proteins are essential for life, this irreversibly kills the organism quickly.
Step 2: The other options describe different mechanisms used by other agents. Oxidation is how agents like hydrogen peroxide or ethylene oxide act, membrane disruption is typical of surfactants and some disinfectants, and nucleic-acid damage is more the action of UV radiation — none of these is the chief rapid mechanism of moist-heat autoclaving.
Answer: Option (3) — the autoclave works mainly by coagulation and denaturation of proteins. (3)
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