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What process would you use to ensure a surface is free of viable microorganisms?
Disinfection
Sanitization
Sterilization
All of the above
The correct answer is: Sterilization
Sterilization is the process designed to eliminate all forms of microbial life, including bacteria, viruses, spores, and fungi, from surfaces and materials. This is achieved through methods such as autoclaving, which uses pressurized steam, or chemical sterilants. By ensuring that a surface is sterilized, you confirm that it is free of any viable microorganisms, making it safe for use in a laboratory or medical setting where the risk of infection must be minimized. While disinfection and sanitization are valuable processes that reduce the number of microorganisms, they do not guarantee the complete removal of all organisms. Disinfection typically eliminates a significant number of pathogens but may not destroy resistant spores, whereas sanitization aims to reduce microbial counts to a safe level but does not achieve complete sterility. Thus, sterilization is the most comprehensive method when the goal is to ensure an area or surface is entirely free of any living microorganisms.