| Abstrakt: |
A new low-temperature sterilizer is described which uses both hydrogen peroxide and ozone in a multiphase process. The primary sterilant, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, is introduced into a chamber until a differential pressure of 19 torr is reached. By keeping the differential pressure constant, both the sterilant dose and exposure time are allowed to vary, which allows for a single cycle to be used to sterilize a wide variety of loads with differing size, material, and geometry. Lethality is achieved due to the effect of hydrogen peroxide in both the vapour and micro-condensation phases. Ozone is subsequently added to the chamber to decompose residual hydrogen peroxide and further increase lethality. Device performance has been validated by half-cycle, simulated-use, and in-use testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
