Pharmaceutical Microbiology

About This eLearning

This self-paced digital learning course provides comprehensive instruction on pharmaceutical microbiology in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The online microbiology course is presented in three modules for approximately five hours* of content.

Module 1: Introductory Topics (approximately 1 hour)

At the end of this module, you will:

  • Explain microbiological problems in the context of pharmaceutical manufacturing, including how to identify problems
  • Know the meaning of microorganisms and their significance
  • Understand how microorganisms grow and why it matters

Module 2: Intermediate Topics (approximately 2.5 hours)

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • Review how microorganisms are counted and explain the rapid microbiological methods
  • Outline the identification of microorganisms and explain pharmaceutical water systems
  • Review pyrogens and pyrogen testing
  • Understand microbiological evaluations of raw materials
  • Understand microbiological contamination and spoilage
  • Know the principles of preservation in the pharmaceutical context
  • Understand antibiotics and how to assess antimicrobial activity
  • Outline and understand the importance of good disinfection practices

Module 3: Advanced Topics (approximately 1.5 hours)

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • Review sterilization principles and methods
  • Explain bio validation of sterilization
  • Describe sterility testing in the pharmaceutical environment
  • Discover microbiological validation of cleanrooms
  • Review microbiological environmental monitoring methods
  • Know how to perform a microbiological risk assessment


*This online microbiology course is self-paced. Completion times are estimated based on the amount of content in each module.