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Sterilization cycle for VHP windows
Sterilization cycle for VHP windowsThe sterilization cycle of VHP transfer windows usually includes four stages: dehumidification, conditioning, sterilization, and ventilation to remove residues:1. Dehumidification stage: It takes about 10 minutes to remove moisture from the window to create a suitable environment for subsequent sterilization; 2. Conditioning stage: also takes about 10 minutes, this stage will introduce hydrogen peroxide gas into the inner cavity of the transfer window so that its concentration reaches a certain level; 3. Sterilisation stage: it lasts about 40 minutes, and the sterilization of the surface of the articles is achieved by maintaining the concentration of hydrogen peroxide gas; 4. Ventilation of the residue stage: this is the more time-consuming stage of the entire sterilization cycle, which generally takes 1.5 to 3 hours or even longer (the exact length of time depends on the size of the chamber and the performance of the equipment). During this phase, the hydrogen peroxide gas concentration inside the transfer window is reduced to less than 1ppm to ensure safe use. However, the sterilization cycle of traditional VHP windows may be too long for the following reasons: firstly, the 30% high concentration of hydrogen peroxide solution is used; secondly, the thermal evaporation and vaporization of hydrogen peroxide are prone to condensation, which will be re-released in the later process of residue removal, thus making the removal of residue more difficult; thirdly, the material of high-efficiency filters and other materials are prone to adsorption of hydrogen peroxide; and fourthly, the vapor pressure of hydrogen peroxide is lower than that of water. At present, some new VHP transfer windows can shorten the sterilization cycle to less than 45 minutes and the residue to less than 1ppm through technical improvement, such as adopting cold evaporation technology, and the whole sterilization process does not heat up at all, which is more suitable for the scenarios that have requirements on time and temperature. The sterilization cycle of VHP windows produced by different manufacturers may vary, and the specific time should be referred to the instruction manual and relevant technical parameters of the equipment. In actual use, to ensure the sterilization effect and operational safety, the equipment should be operated and maintained in strict accordance with the requirements of the equipment. |
