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How does oxidation kill bacteria?

Answer 1

By damaging important molecules of the bacteria.

The process of removing an electron from a molecule is called oxidation, and it causes significant disruption to the vital cellular structures of bacteria.

Cells can occasionally repair some of the damage brought on by oxidation, but when oxidative damage gets to be too great, the cell or bacteria will perish.

#color(Red)"Examples"# Chlorine in water is such an oxidative agent that is used to kill bacteria. Humans have special immune cells (macrophages) that use oxidation to kill bacteria.

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Answer 2

Olivia Anton

Oxidation kills bacteria by disrupting their cellular structure and functions. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during oxidation damage bacterial cell membranes, proteins, and DNA, leading to cell death.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.