Assessment and verification of commercially available pressure cookers for laboratory sterilization.

Autor: Swenson VA; Biology Department, Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, United States of America., Stacy AD; Department of Biology, Southern Oregon University, Oregon, Ashland, United States of America., Gaylor MO; Chemistry Department, Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, United States of America., Ushijima B; Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America., Philmus B; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America., Cozy LM; Department of Biology, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois, United States of America., Videau NM; Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America., Videau P; Biology Department, Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2018 Dec 11; Vol. 13 (12), pp. e0208769. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Dec 11 (Print Publication: 2018).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208769
Abstrakt: Laboratory science requires careful maintenance of sterile reagents and tools as well as the sterilization of waste prior to disposal. However, steam autoclaves typically used for this purpose may not be readily accessible to everyone in the scientific community, such as K-12 teachers, researchers in the field, students in under-funded laboratories, or persons in the developing world who lack funding and resources. This work examines the use of commercial electric pressure cookers as an alternative method for the sterilization of media, instruments, and waste. Four commonly available brands of pressure cooker were tested for their ability to sterilize microbiological media, a variety of metal instruments, and high-titer microbial cultures. All four pressure cookers were able to sterilize these starting materials as well as a range of microbial types, including Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, filamentous fungi, unicellular fungi, and mixed environmental samples. Only the Instant Pot, however, was able to sterilize autoclave tester ampoules of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores. These results suggest that, depending on the nature of the work undertaken, store-bought pressure cookers can be an appropriate substitute for commercial autoclaves. Their adoption may also help increase the accessibility of science to a broader range of investigators.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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