The sterilisation of laboratory media is essential to ensuring consistently accurate results, as well as minimising potential health risks. As you could imagine, in a laboratory there is a high possibility of cross contamination should proper protocols not be followed, especially in the treatment and cleaning of lab equipment.
Once all testing has been completed, and the waste has been placed in to approved disposable bags, you now need to sterilise this waste to ensure proper handling during disposal. This will reduce the potential for cross contamination, which could essentially effect months of work, or possibly result in health issues should anyone become infected.
Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you ensure you have the correct sterilisation process in place, and the equipment to provide a more effective sterilisation result. When it comes to the sterilisation of hollow items(pipette tips and empty glassware) and waste in bags, an essential option to any autoclave is the vacuum.
How can the vacuum process assist with increased sterilisation?
There is a two-step approach to this process, beginning with a fractionated pre-vacuum phase, which removes the air from within the chamber, enabling the steam to penetrate completely. Once the heating and cooling phase has been completed, the vacuum removes the saturated air within the chamber and waste bag, which in turn removes any contamination that may be lurking.
The vacuum functionality is highly effective at removing the air from tubing, porous materials, fabrics and disposable (waste) bags. This procedure provides a precise, reproducible and validatable sterilisation result.
An additional option that works in conjunction with the vacuum system is a Teflon air exhaust filter that is designed to trap contagious pathogen material. The trapped material is completely sterilised and ensures that there is no contaminated material leaving the autoclave during the pre-vacuum stages.
If you are looking to purchase a new autoclave, talk to our consultants at Bioline, and we will be able to discuss the best options for your lab to ensure maximum results, efficiency and guaranteed sterility. Feel free to contact us on 1800 210 805, or fill out our Online Enquiry Form, and we will contact you back as soon as possible