Explorer
This might be a silly thing to ask, but could you just use a regular kitchen oven for that?DrPEPr said:
I've considered buying an autoclave so I could 'recycle' my glassware, but from what I've read, endotoxins aren't eliminated by that process.greenwave1015 said:
To truly sterilize (not merely disinfect) empty vials and their components, use a pressure cooker. Simply boiling won't cut it—spores can survive that. A pressure cooker running at 15 PSI for a few minutes reaches the necessary temperature to get the job done. Autoclave indicator tape can be used to verify that sterilization conditions were actually met.
If you require the vials to be completely dry, move them into an oven.
When it comes to preventing re-contamination from airborne particles, that's likely tough to achieve at home. You can reduce some (or a lot?) of it by loosely placing aluminum foil over your bottles during cooking and transfer. You can also try to emulate aseptic practices—for example, relocate your finished bottles to a cleaner room (wipe surfaces and tools beforehand with 70% iso), wash your hands, put on a face mask, cover your hair, and so on.
That being said, the chance of infection from a no-name vendor's "sterilized" vials appears quite low, judging by anecdotal reports (I'd defer to others for their opinions). There's an excellent interview online featuring Peter Magic (founder of janoshik) where he basically pokes fun at us for being germophobes (for instance, he says using sterile water for reconstitution is perfectly fine for 28 days—BAC water isn't even used in Europe).
If your time and peace of mind matter to you, just spend a bit more on premium supplies.
Personally, I think sterilizing bottles, crimping the tops, and the whole process is kind of enjoyable!
Not entirely sure why, though..
To actually depyrogenize vials, it appears a dry-heat oven is required (250°C (482°F)).
I'm not sure I want to spend money on one of those, since the vials I use right now (Biomed Solutions) appear to be fine and inexpensive enough that I can simply throw them away after use.
My oven reaches 500F without any issue. One thing to watch out for: it needs to be electric rather than gas. Dry heat isn't something gas ovens can provide.