Surfactants enhance the penetration of disinfectants by reducing surface tension, allowing better contact with microbes.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the role of surfactants in disinfection?
Solution: Surfactants enhance the penetration of disinfectants by reducing surface tension, allowing better contact with microbes.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what surfactants are. Surfactants are substances that lower the surface tension between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid.
Step 2: Know that disinfectants are chemicals used to kill or inactivate harmful microorganisms.
Step 3: Learn that when disinfectants are applied to surfaces, they need to reach and contact the microbes to be effective.
Step 4: Realize that surfactants help by breaking down barriers (like surface tension) that might prevent disinfectants from reaching the microbes.
Step 5: Conclude that by reducing surface tension, surfactants allow disinfectants to spread more easily and make better contact with the germs, enhancing their effectiveness.
