Eppendorf White Paper 14 - Manual (Page 4)

WHITE PAPER I No. 14 I Page 4
Autoclaving
To protect human beings from pathogens or samples from
contamination, sterilization of rotors and accessories might
be desirable. Sterilization is a term referred to a process that
eliminates all forms of microbial life, including transmissible
agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, spore forms etc.
A widely-used method for heat sterilization is autoclaving,
where hot steam sterilizes equipment and other objects.
A typical autoclaving program is performed at 121 °C and
2 bar atmospheric pressure for 15 to 20 min for instance.
A few rotors in the market have been tested for autoclaving
at 121 °C. Especially the aluminum made fixed-angle and
swing-out rotors from Eppendorf have been vigorously
tested and approved within this setting. They possess a
special anodized coating which protects the metal from
deeper corrosion effects. Steel made rotors are commonly
of limited suitability for autoclaving. If you are in doubt
about your rotor, please ask the manufacturer about
autoclaving possibilities.
To achieve an outstanding chemical resistance against
phenol, acetonitrile, DMSO, acetone, trichloroacetic acid,
acetic acid and sodium hypochlorite, Eppendorf offers a
second type of aluminum fixed-angle rotor with a special
PTFE coating. This coating is applied on top of the actual
anodic coating. Autoclaving (121 °C, 20 min.) this rotor type
even improves the already enhanced chemical resistance
due to the material properties of the coating.
However, prions, such as those associated with Creutzfeldt-
Jakob disease, may not be destroyed by autoclaving at the
typical 121 °C for 20 minutes. Some manufacturers state
that autoclaving at 134 °C for at least 18 minutes should
usually be sufficient [1]. But in some cases this also is not
enough to deactivate the agent of disease, especially if you
use material with very high infectiousness. The prions are
generally quite resistant to heat, although their infectivity
can be reduced by such a treatment. To destroy prions,
rotors which are only tested to be autoclaved at a max
temperature of 121 °C are therefore not suitable for such an
application. According to available marketing material, only
a few rotors in the market are allowed to be autoclaved at
higher temperatures. But are the rotors really tested within
this setting? Only very few companies can provide customers
with rotors really being tested with higher temperatures
than 121 °C. So in this application field, the customer has a
very limited choice of available rotors, including Eppendorf’s
high quality aluminum made rotors. Selected Eppendorf
rotors were extensively tested at 142 °C for 2 hours. These
Eppendorf rotors can be used with confidence for such an
application.
• You should exchange aerosol tight lids after each autoclaving run at 142 °C to guarantee
the aerosol-tightness.
• Never autoclave the rotor with the lid attached.
• Please check recommendations in your rotor »instructions for use« info or contact the manufacturer’s
application support, if you are in doubt.