According to APIC (Association for
Professionals in Infection Control
and Epidemiology), ethyl alcohol
and isopropyl alcohol are not
effective in sterilizing instruments
because they lack sporicidal activity
and can’t penetrate protein-rich
materials. Isopropyl alcohol also
lacks the ability to kill hydrophilic
viruses. For these reasons, alcohol
is classified as an intermediate level
disinfectant.