Alternative Low Temperature Sterilization in the Clinical Setting, 1990 Polymers, Laminations & Coatings Conference Proceedings

Sterilization of medical devices and equipment is the cornerstone of asepsis in modern healthcare practice. The wide range of heat sensitive materials used in the fabrication of these devices has created and sustained the need for a suitable means of low temperature sterilization. While both ethylene oxide and ionizing radiation have filled this need, ethylene oxide remains the only proven method for low temperature sterilization in the clinical setting. Increasing regulatory focus on ethylene oxide, however, has prompted intensified research to develop alternative methods for low temperature sterilization. Alternative sterilization technologies reviewed in this paper include vapor phase hydrogen peroxide, chlorine dioxide, gas plasma, ozone, peracetic acid, glutaraldehyde, ultraviolet radiation and low temperature steam formaldehyde. While several of these methodologies may find limited application in the healthcare sterilization marketplace, none are viewed as a total replacement for ethylene oxide.