A method of sterilizing material includes receiving the material in a sterilizing chamber, vaporizing sterilant supplied to vaporizer from a sterilant source, exposing the material to the vaporized sterilant by conducting a sterilization cycle in the sterilizing chamber, heating ambient filtered air supplied to the vaporizer from an ambient filtered air source, and removing residuals of the vaporized sterilant absorbed or adsorbed by the material during the sterilization cycle by conducting an aeration cycle in the sterilizing chamber. The removing of the residuals includes conducting a plurality of aeration pulses to provide the sterilizing chamber with an aeration atmosphere comprising the heated filtered air to vaporize the absorbed or adsorbed residuals, and conducting a plurality of aeration vacuum pulses to evacuate the aeration atmosphere and vaporized residuals from the sterilizing chamber.

A decontamination assembly, for pharmaceutical applications includes at least one chamber to be decontaminated (4) having a decontamination liquid storage tank (36) by which several atomizers (A, B, C. D) disposed in the chamber to be decontaminated (4) for producing a decontaminant aerosol can be supplied with decontamination liquid using valves (27) which can be controlled by electronic control, the atomizers (A, B, C, D) being in fluid communication with a ring conduit (32) having an inlet (33) and a separate outlet (34) by the valves (27), decontamination liquid from the decontamination liquid storage tank (36) being conveyable into the inlet of the ring conduit by a pump (35) and decontamination liquid flowing out of the outlet of the ring conduit back into the decontamination liquid storage tank (36), and a pressure adjustment mechanism (37) for keeping the pressure in the ring conduit (32) at a predefined liquid pressure range assigned to the ring conduit (32). A measuring mechanism (40) for determining a total volume of decontamination liquid dispensed to the atomizers (A, B, C, D) during a decontamination cycle includes a weighing mechanism (41) for determining a decontamination liquid volume in the decontamination liquid storage tank (36).

A decontamination system, method, and sterilant kit for a device, such as a lumen device, is depicted. The decontamination system, in some embodiments, includes a device container, a wicking pad, and a sterilant fluid delivery device. The device container, such as a terminal package or a decontamination chamber, defines a device receiving area. The wicking pad is in fluid communication with the device receiving area. The sterilant fluid delivery device is in fluid communication with the wicking pad. The sterilant fluid delivery device is configured to wet the wicking pad with sterilant fluid. The wicking pad is configured to evaporate sterilant fluid into the device receiving area.

A method is provided for vaporized hydrogen peroxide cleaning of a chamber. The method includes altering a temperature of air in the chamber from an initial temperature to a sterilization temperature over a first time period. The method also includes injecting vaporized hydrogen peroxide into air in the chamber to alter a relative humidity of hydrogen peroxide vapor in the chamber to a sterilization level over the first time period. The method also includes maintaining the temperature at the sterilization temperature and the relative humidity at the sterilization level over a second time period. The method also includes reducing the relative humidity from the sterilization level to a safe level over a third time period. In one embodiment, the method is provided for vaporized hydrogen peroxide cleaning of an interior chamber of an incubation container. In other embodiments, the incubation chamber featured in the method is provided.

A method for sterilizing closure elements (3) for packaging containers (1), wherein the closure elements (3) are collected individually by a holding mechanism (25) in the region of a sterile chamber (12) and are placed onto an opening (4) of a filled packaging container (1) and connected to the latter, and wherein the closure elements (3), while being conveyed inside the sterile chamber (12), are treated by means of at least one sterilizing medium (6, 7, 52) during a sterilizing process.

A method of operating a sterilizer includes imaging a load of instruments to obtain an optical image and/or thermal image of the load, and selecting a sterilization cycle to be performed by the sterilizer based on one or more characteristics of the load determined from the image of the load. The characteristics may include the number of instruments, the presence of a diffusion-restricted space, the volume of the load, and the temperature of the load. The method may further include adjusting the sterilization cycle based on the characteristics of the load.

The present disclosure provides a hydrogen peroxide sterilization sensor and method of use. The sensor includes: at least one thermal indicator component independently selected from an electronic thermal sensor, an irreversible temperature indicator, and a heat-shrinkable film; a reactant-functional porous sorbent in thermal contact (which may or may not be direct physical contact) with the at least one thermal indicator component; and a reactant comprising a material that reacts exothermically with hydrogen peroxide. The reactant is impregnated in the porous sorbent. The method includes: providing a hydrogen peroxide sterilization sensor; allowing hydrogen peroxide to contact the reactant to generate thermal energy sufficient to cause a response from the at least one thermal indicator component; and detecting that conditions for the hydrogen peroxide sterilization have been met.

A sterilization system for sterilizing an article is disclosed. The sterilization system may include a hydrogen peroxide generation system configured to generate hydrogen peroxide, a hydroxyl generation system configured to produce a flow of hydroxyl radicals that causes deterioration of the hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl ions, and a sterilization chamber configured to expose the article to the hydroxyl ions to sterilize the article. Additionally, methods for sterilizing articles are disclosed. Those methods may include generating hydrogen peroxide, producing a flow of hydroxyl radicals that causes deterioration of the hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl ions, and exposing the article to the hydroxyl ions to sterilize the article.

A biological indicator (100) for use in a liquid-chemical decontamination system is disclosed. The biological indicator may include a housing (102) and a cap (106) coupled to the housing. The cap may comprise a liquid chamber and at least two ports. One of the ports may connect to a liquid passage in the cap such that liquids such as liquid-chemical decontaminants may be introduced and removed from the biological indicator via this port.

Even when the filling speed increases, the surface temperature of a molded bottle falls within a constant range, and a sterilizer adequately sterilizes the bottle.

A preform is heated, the heated preform is sealed in a mold, the preform sealed in the mold is blow-molded into a bottle, the surface temperatures of a neck portion, a body portion, and a bottom portion of the molded bottle are measured, and the mold temperatures of a neck portion, a body portion, and a bottom portion of the mold is so adjusted that the measured surface temperature of the bottle falls within a specified temperature range.