biological contamination

Definition

contamination of materials, devices, individuals, surfaces, liquids, gases or air with viable particles.

Notes

  • NOTE 1 Depending on the context, biological contamination can be considered as organic or as particulate contamination. A bacterial cell has about 1E-13 g (organic content of one cell is below the detection limit of most chemical methods).
  • NOTE 2 Problem is that, apart from growing, cells and spores often have extracellular material that can be more mass than the cell itself.
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