Sterilization Methods Summary

We have reached the end of the Sterilization Methods Series where we explored the different ways to kill or remove deadly bacteria, viruses, and harmful pathogens.

How do you select the appropriate sterilization method when there are so many choices available? Your decision will depend on many different parameters, including:

• The purpose of sterilization. Sterilization in the lab is different than in hospitals, which is also different than pharmaceutical sterilization.  Each industry and application have their own unique requirements.
• The material that needs to be sterilized. Is the material heat sensitive? Is it sensitive to moisture, gas or radiation?
• The nature of the microorganisms that need to be destroyed or removed.
• Additional considerations are: time, safety and budget.

The sterilization methods series can help you make an informed decision. It includes 12 blog posts and covers 9 different sterilization methods that can be divided into two major categories: heat and non-heat sterilization methods.

Sterilization methods that use heat can be further sub-categorized into:

Flaming
Incineration
Dry heat
Autoclave Steam Sterilization (our personal favorite)
 Non-heat sterilization methods are further divided into four categories of low temperature methods that use gas:

Ethylene Oxide (Eto)
Formaldehyde
Ozone
Plasma
The last category is physical sterilization methods:

Filtration
Radiation

This table summarizes each method:

Sterilization Method	Advantages	Disadvantages	Common Uses
Steam	Cost effective Short cycle times	High temperature High moisture levels	Dental, Medical, Sterile Processing, Laboratory, Pharmaceutical, small clinics and more
Flaming	Fast Cost Effective	Applied on the instrument directly Applicable on metallic devices only	Small metal or glass objects in microbiology labs
Incineration	Load volume decreases by 90%	Total destruction of load High construction and installation costs	Waste processing
Dry Heat	Relatively low cost Ideal for moisture sensitive Items	Long cycle duration	Small clinics, metals, ceramics
Formaldehyde	After sterilization, most loads are available for immediate use	Long cycle duration	Endoscopes
EtO	High efficiency Large sterilizing volume	MutagenicCarcinogenic Excessively Long cycle	PVC, Rubber, Endoscopes
Filtration	Used for sterilizing gases and liquids	Does not differentiate between viable and non viable particles	Heat sensitive injections, solutions and air (venting systems)
Radiation	High penetration power	Expensive Can produce undesirable changes in irradiated products	Industrial sterilization of heat sensitive products Biomedical devices
Ozone	Uses medical grade oxygen	Long cycle time	Medical
Plasma	Does not leave chemical residues	Cannot sterilize: liquids, powders, and strong absorbers	Endoscopes Soft contact lenses Surgical Dental

This infographic provides a visual overview of each method