Isolaatissa

Isolaatio refers to the process or state of being separated from others or from contact with other systems. The inessive form isolaatissa literally means "in isolation." The term is used in science, medicine, engineering, computing and social and environmental contexts to describe separation or containment.

In microbiology, isolation means obtaining a pure culture from a mixed sample. Common methods include streak plate, serial dilution and plating on selective media. The goal is to separate individual organisms for identification, study of characteristics and susceptibility testing, while maintaining sterile technique to avoid contamination.

In health care, isolation is a set of practices to prevent transmission of infectious agents. Patients may be placed in isolation rooms, and staff use protective equipment. Precautions are categorized by mode of transmission, such as contact, droplet, or airborne, and may be reinforced by facility design and monitoring.

In electrical engineering and information technology, isolation means keeping circuits, systems or software components apart to prevent unintended interactions or hazards. Electrical isolation uses barriers, opto-isolators or transformers; software isolation employs sandboxing, virtualization or containerization to confine processes and limit fault propagation or security risks.

Isolation also appears in geography and sociology, referring to physical distance or social separation. In policy and risk management, isolation considerations influence public health, urban planning and environmental planning.