Hot air oven

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the consumer device to heat food, see Convection oven.
Hot air oven

Hot air ovens are

bacterial spores can be used as controls, to test for the efficacy
of the device during use.

Advantages and disadvantages

They do not require water and there is not much pressure build up within the oven, unlike an autoclave, making them safer to work with. This also makes them more suitable to be used in a laboratory environment. They are much smaller than autoclaves but can still be as effective. They can be more rapid than an autoclave and higher temperatures can be reached compared to other means. As they use

prions, may not be killed by them every time, based on the principle of thermal inactivation by oxidation.[citation needed
]

Usage

A complete cycle involves heating the oven to the required temperature, maintaining that temperature for the proper time interval for that temperature, turning the machine off and cooling the articles in the closed oven till they reach room temperature. The standard settings for a hot air oven are:

  • 1.5 to 2 hours at 160 °C (320 °F)
  • 6 to 12 minutes at 190 °C (374 °F)

....plus the time required to preheat the chamber before beginning the sterilization cycle. If the door is opened before time, heat escapes and the process becomes incomplete. Thus the cycle must be properly repeated all over.

These are widely used to sterilize articles that can withstand high temperatures and not get burnt, like glassware and powders. Linen gets burnt and surgical sharps lose their sharpness.

References

  1. ISBN 978-8125028086
    .

External links
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