Final answer:
To sterilize heat-labile solutions, membrane filtration is the correct method as it allows for sterilization without using high temperatures, which can damage heat-sensitive materials. Autoclaves, dry heat, and pasteurization are not suitable as they involve higher temperatures that would denature these materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
To sterilize heat-labile solutions, one should use membrane filtration. This method does not utilize high temperature, avoiding damage to heat-sensitive materials. Bacterial culture media, antibiotics, and vitamin solutions are examples often sterilized by this method. Autoclaves, which employ moist-heat sterilization, are not appropriate for heat-labile substances as they effectively sterilize using temperatures above water's boiling point, which would denature heat-sensitive materials. While dry heat and pasteurization are also forms of thermal sterilization, they are similarly unsuitable for heat-sensitive solutions, with dry heat requiring high temperatures and pasteurization not rendering materials sterile.
Pasteurization is a method that uses heat to control microbial growth in foods like milk without rendering it sterile, maintaining food quality while killing pathogens and reducing spoilage microbes. Membrane filters usually possess an effective pore size of 0.2 µm, which is smaller than the average bacterium, thus permitting the efficient removal of bacteria without the need for high temperatures.