Sterilizers - Steam sterilizer

A steam sterilizer is a device for killing pathogens such as bacteria (sterilization), by heating under pressure and using steam. These devices are also called autoclaves. Steam sterilizers are used in biotechnology for sterilizing liquid culture media or glassware but are also used in medicine to sterilize or disinfect surgical instruments and other instruments. For steam sterilization with autoclaves, the standard procedure of the German Pharmacopoeia prescribes a temperature of at least 121 °C at 1 bar overpressure (= 2 bar abs.) for 20 minutes. Programs with 134 °C at 3 bar are also common, especially for glassware without liquids and instruments.