Answer to Question #259559 in General Chemistry for Pogi

Question

With reference to enzyme activity, why are surgical instruments sterilized by heating with steam in an autoclave?

Answer 1

The heat that an autoclave delivers via pressurized steam kills bacteria and other microorganisms by causing the organisms' structural proteins and enzymes to lose their shape in an irreversible way, denaturing and coagulating them and making them nonfunctional.