Scientific Research Confirms the Superiority of Dry Heat Sterilization
Performing both a literature review and innovative research a comprehensive examination was conducted analyzing the science behind dry heat sterilization. CPAC’s White Paper, “RapidHeat™ High-Velocity Hot Air Sterilization: A Comparison to Steam Sterilization” recommends readers dismiss the dated facts or misinformation on dry heat sterilization. Much of what has previously been written about dry heat sterilization in medical and dental trade journals and in professional and governmental medical publications is extremely out of date, having been derived from early commercialized applications of the technology. The paper documents how incomplete and misleading information has perpetuated the idea that dry heat sterilization is limited in its application and requires excessively high temperatures and long cycle lengths. It addresses how new testing methods have revealed that RapidHeat™ sterilization at low temperatures can outperform steam sterilization, particularly at 320°F where the turnaround of a cycle is comparable to steam.
The study also includes references and comparisons to NASA’s original research conducted during the 1960s and 1970s when the agency was attempting to determine the best method to decontaminate space vehicles before going to other planets. As a consequence of researching and applying all sterilization methods, NASA concluded that dry heat is the best sterilizing technology, labeling it as the “Gold Standard” for microbial reduction and its ability to penetrate encapsulated bioburden. This is an extremely important consideration if a device is not properly cleaned of debris or residue that may harbor microbial contaminants. Steam and chemicals have been proven unable to reliably penetrate and inactivate encapsulated bioburden.
