Different methods of sterilisation include heat, filtration, radiation and using chemicals. Think about the practicalities of each method for each of those items.

just throw them in the autoclavation machine 😉

or by using a gamma irradiation towards all of them..:lol:

For blood serum, they usually use filtration or an inspissator. For books and shoes, use of radiation is probably the best.

autoclavation machine= autoclave

sterilization by fumigation is possible. Ethylene oxide is one of the cemical used.

I guess the question is to find a suitable method for each object. Autoclaving may not be the best in all cases, because your book will look weird, leather and plastic in the shoes may not stand the heat, and proteins in the serum are probably going to denature.

Fumigation may not work very well for books since you need surface contact.

James listed the general methods. Heat can be autoclave, but also dry heat (usualyy at much higher temperature), Radiations can be Gamma rays, but also UV light. Chemicals can be gaseous (fumigation) or liquids. And filtration nothing to add.

I was joking in suggesting the autoclave as a possible solution 😆

To steralize all these things, just autoclave it.

No. To settle things, I know MrMistery is juct joking sincce its pretty obvious an AUTOCLAVE cannot be used to sterilize the blood serum. The serum will be denatured at that temperature and pressure. You can filter it probably. Radiation via exposure to UV may not be possible, it may affect the paper quality and talk about exposing every page to make sure we won’t miss any bacteria in between pages. Gamma irradiation can penetrate the book and is used extensively for treating food materials.

Ethanol would be far more safer and easier and would be just as effective.

Nope ethanol is not a real good disinfectant, even at 70% (best concentration), it tends to evaporate too fast.

I use it at work. I clean gilsons and the surfaces of the hood with it after they become contaminated and it works every time.

Nope… Ehtanol is a disinfectant, not a sterilizing agent. A lot of mold spores and bacterial spores can survive ethanol treatment. Ethanol is not even the best alcohol disinfectant, isopropyl is even better but it will in no way sterilize shoes! And I really hate to think what would happen to a book if you use ethanol or on blood serum!!! Your going to wipe the book cover and the pages with alcohol and you won’t have anything to read afterwards. At least radiation have some penetrating power and can probably sterilize those stuff without much affecting its functional properties.[/b]

I agree with Canalon, 70% is the best concentration. Too small and the alcohol properties won’t affect cells too much. Too high, and it would evaporate too fast resulting to very little contact time with the organisms. But of course, if you apply 70% alcohol in your hands, don’t be fooled if you think your hands are 100% microbe free!