Sterilizing Bacillus pumilus spores using supercritical carbon dioxide
Jian Zhang1, Sarah Burrows, Courtney Gleason
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Abstract:
Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO(2)) has been evaluated as a new sterilization technology. Results are presented on killing of B. pumilus spores using SC CO(2) containing trace levels of additives. Complete killing was achieved with 200 part per million (ppm) hydrogen peroxide in SC CO(2) at 60 degrees C, 27.5 MPa. Addition of water to SC CO(2) resulted in greater than three-log killing, but this is insufficient to claim sterilization. Neither ethanol nor isopropanol when added to SC CO(2) affected killing.
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