Aseptic technique why

With the increased focus on antimicrobial resistance AMR there is also a need to carefully consider antibiotic usage, and prevention of infection can help to reduce the need for antimicrobials in the first place HM Government, Aseptic technique is a process or procedure used to achieve asepsis to prevent the transfer of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms to a susceptible site that may result in the development of infection Wilson, An aseptic technique is required for many clinical interventions including wound dressing and insertion of invasive devices, as well as the maintenance of these devices Loveday et al, Healthcare workers who perform an aseptic technique should receive training in how to correctly perform the procedure; this should include a competency assessment Loveday et al, A variety of terms are used to refer to aseptic technique; this can be confusing for frontline healthcare staff Loveday et al, Medical asepsis — sometimes referred to as standard aseptic technique Association of Safe Aseptic Practice, — aims to reduce the number of organisms and prevents their spread by use of standard principles of infection prevention Loveday et al, Surgical asepsis includes procedures to eliminate, rather than reduce, micro-organisms from an area and is practised by surgical teams and nurses in operating theatres and procedure areas, including interventional radiology NICE, Rowley et al recognised the need for a systematic and robust approach to aseptic technique that aims to prevent the contamination of wounds or other susceptible sites by removing variation in practice Rowley et al, If they become contaminated, this can result in the patient acquiring a preventable infection.

Key parts are defined as the parts of the equipment used in the procedure that come into direct or indirect contact with another key part or site. Key sites are defined as open wounds, including insertion sites and puncture sites. Both key parts and key sites always need to be protected Rowley et al, , which can be achieved by not touching the key part and by using caps and covers, such as the sterile wrapper of a syringe to protect the key part of the syringe before use.

Risk assessment before the procedure will direct the practitioner as to whether the key parts and key sites can be protected by non-touch or whether the procedure will require the use of sterile gloves, such as for the insertion of a urinary catheter or for taking blood when the re-palpation of the puncture site is required ASAP, Surgical aseptic technique should be used when procedures are technically complex and invasive, involve extended procedure time more than 20 minutes or a large, open key site and large or numerous key parts.

The main aseptic field needs to be managed as a critical aseptic field a controlled working space that ensures asepsis by providing protection from the procedure environment — typically by using a sterilised drape , using sterile gloves and often with full barrier precautions to include sterile gown, mask and cap ASAP, There are a number of stages and principles for aseptic technique Table 1 ; the fundamental initial stage is hand hygiene, which must be performed before any aseptic technique World Health Organization, ; Loveday et al, Hands can be decontaminated by washing with soap and water or by use of alcohol-based handrub Loveday et al, Hand hygiene must be performed before preparation of the sterile equipment to avoid contamination of the equipment, and may need to be repeated immediately before the procedure if the hands have become contaminated Loveday et al, It must also be performed after the procedure WHO, All sterile equipment should be stored in a clean and dry environment National Health and Medical Research Council, The sterile packages should not be allowed to become wet or damaged as this affects the sterility of the equipment inside.

Ideally the equipment should be kept out of direct sunlight as this could also affect the packaging, as well as the quality of the sterile products of the equipment. It is also sensible to store the equipment in a manner that enables staff to locate it easily, preventing wasted time. Preparation of aseptic technique equipment before performing a procedure should be done in a clean area. A suitable surface should be prepared, such as a dressing trolley or a procedure tray, by cleaning it with a detergent wipe or according to local policy Loveday et al, Ideally, preparation should be undertaken far enough away from hand washbasins to prevent droplets from the sink outlet contaminating the prepared equipment Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Each sterile package should be inspected to ensure the packaging is still intact with no visible damage; the expiry date must be checked to ensure the equipment is still in date Lloyd Jones, All equipment required should be gathered at this point and laid out in a manner to protect key parts using sterile packets, covers and caps Rowley et al, Find another well-isolated colony.

Microbiology Resource Center. Introduction In the microbiology lab we use aseptic technique to: Prevent contamination of the specific microorganism we are working with. Prevent contamination of the room and personnel with the microorganism we are working with. Wear your lab coat and gloves.

Tie back long hair. Leave all food and drink in your backpack. Do not chew gum in lab. The only thing on your lab bench should be the equipment you are working with and your lab book. Place your backpacks on the floor where you or someone else will not trip over them. Discard contaminated material in the appropriate container. Clean up all spills immediately! Wash your hands before leaving the lab. Lab Bench Organization You need to have your workspace well organized. Transferring Organisms One of your main concerns when working with microorganisms is to avoid producing aerosols that you can breathe in and droplets that can land on you, your lab partners, and your lab equipment.

Part I - Procedures for Practice "Organisms" After you have practiced these procedures several times your instructor or IA will assess your proficiency. Firmly attach the hose to the tapered gas line. The burner has two adjustments. The knob underneath adjusts the amount of gas going into the burner tube. The barrel of the burner turns to adjust the amount of air going into the burner. Scrape a single colony with the inoculating loop, and close the plate.

To transfer bacteria from a liquid growth medium, remove the cap from the culture container. To help prevent contamination, avoiding setting the cap down onto the bench. Pass the mouth of the container times through the hottest portion of the flame. Then, carefully touch the hot, sterilized inoculation loop onto the inside of the container and let it cool before inserting it into the broth culture. Remove one loopful of the culture, and immediately close the cap.

For transferring the obtained bacteria to a sterile growth medium, remove the cap from a container with the sterile broth and pass the container's opening through the flame times. Then, carefully lower the inoculation loop into the medium, and agitate gently to release the bacteria. Immediately close the cap. Sterilize the inoculation loop after use. If transferring bacteria onto a sterile agar plate, open the lid of a fresh Petri plate with uninoculated agar.

Streak the inoculation loop with the bacterial culture back-and-forth across one sector of the agar. Sterilize the loop and cool it by touching an empty part of the agar, then make another streak on the agar at an obtuse angle to the first streak, making sure to cross the first streak on the first strokes but avoid touching the first streak on subsequent strokes. Repeat the sterilization and streaking 2 more times.

Close the Petri plate, and sterilize the inoculation loop. Once inoculated, the broth or agar plate should then be incubated at the ideal growth temperature for the given microorganism to obtain viable culture. On solid medium, a lawn or continuous strand of bacteria would be visible on agar covered by the first two streaks, but individual colonies should be obtained on the final streak. Poor aseptic techniques would result in the growth of mold and other contaminants on the plate.

Aseptic techniques are important in many experiments involving microbial samples from the environment. In this study, researchers isolated bacteriophages, which are bacteria-infecting viruses, from the common soil bacterium Arthrobacter. Arthrobacter cultures were first grown under aseptic conditions. Soil samples were then washed and filtered in phage buffer, and the phage solution was mixed with the bacterial culture and plated onto agar plates. A bacterial lawn would form on the plate, but there would be clearings, or "plaques", at spots where the virus had infected and killed the bacteria.

Phage could then be purified from these plaques for further study. Other than using Bunsen burners, aseptic working environments can also be maintained in specialized workstations known as laminar flow hoods, which use directed airflow and filters to maintain sterility. Here, scientists worked in a flow hood to isolate potential pathogenic bacteria and viruses from water samples.

These isolates were then cultured together with amoebae. Because amoebae normally eat or "phagocytose" bacteria, any bacteria that were able to resist amoebal digestion and remain in these organisms can also potentially remain viable in human cells and cause diseases. Finally, sterile conditions permit detailed study of ecological mechanisms such as the formation of root nodules in legume plants - bacteria-filled organs that "fix" atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which is used by the plant for growth.

Researchers here created "microcosms" for studying the nodulation process using notched Petri plates with plant growth medium, placed seedlings into them and inoculated the seedlings with nodule-forming rhizobial bacteria. The aseptic environment of the flow hood prevents contamination of the cultures with other bacteria or fungi. You've just watched JoVE's video on aseptic techniques in environmental science. You should now understand why aseptic working conditions are important; how to aseptically perform microbiological experiments; and some applications of aseptic techniques to environmental research.

As always, thanks for watching! The outcome of the procedure demonstrates proper aseptic technique and poor aseptic technique. Figure 7 illustrates the contamination that can arise from poor aseptic technique when pouring agarose plates top plate: sterile medium; bottom plates: contaminated media.

Figure 7: Contamination that can arise from poor aseptic technique when pouring agarose plates. Top plate: sterile medium; bottom plates: contaminated media. Proper use of aseptic technique is vital for environmental microbiologists when sampling in the field and in the laboratory when working with media, reagents, and cultured isolates. Poor aseptic technique in the field can result in the transfer of microorganisms from the technician to critical environmental samples, as well as the cross-contamination of microbes from one sample to another.

Such events are of importance, for example, in microbial ecology studies seeking to identify and compare bacterial and fungal populations that may be present in a given biome. Contamination of such samples can result in a loss of data integrity.

Aseptic technique is also critical for the maintenance of laboratory culture isolates originating from field sampling or from well-established microbial and cell culture repositories. Environmental Microbiology.

Aseptic Technique in Environmental Science. To learn more about our GDPR policies click here. If you want more info regarding data storage, please contact gdpr jove.

Your access has now expired. Provide feedback to your librarian. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer success team. Login processing This is a sample clip. Sign in or start your free trial. Previous Video Next Video. Overview Source: Laboratories of Dr. Charles Gerba - The University of Arizona Demonstrating Author: Luisa Ikner Aseptic technique is a fundamental skill widely practiced in the field of environmental microbiology that requires a balance of mindfulness and practice in the laboratory.

Log in or Start trial to access full content. Preparation for Aseptic Work Obtain and apply the following PPE items: lab coat, latex or nitrile gloves free from tears or holes , and safety goggles Figure 1. For safety in the event of using an open flame, tie back long hair. Figure 1: PPE: A lab coat, latex gloves, and safety goggles.

Prepare liquid broth medium e.