Ethylene oxide or ETO sterilizers are widely used in the pharmaceutical
industry and health care institutions to sterilize products/materials
sensitive to moisture or heat. These high technology sterilizers are
potent in killing pathogens and consist of electrical heating jackets
and provide excellent steam and temperature distribution in the heating
chamber. The heating chamber is generally made of stainless steel and
enclosed with aluminium or stainless steel panels. The machines are also
equipped with automatic temperature control mechanism. In ETO
sterilization bacteria die from the coagulation or denaturation of the
protein constituents. ETO Sterilization Process
- Presterilization Conditioning : The ETO sterilization process begins with presterilization conditioning which includes sealing and evacuating the chamber adn adjusting the temperature and pressure of the chamber.
- Sterilization : This involves adding sterilant and maintaing an potimum operating pressure and temperature in the chamber.
- Evacuation and Airwashing : This process involves evacuating the chamber and and giving it a number of airwashing to remove any trace of ETO gas.
- Aeration : Finally any residual ETO in the product or material is removed through aeration, which can either be done in the sterilizing chamber or in a specially designed aeration chamber.
