Application of vapor phase hydrogen peroxide sterilization to endoscope.

An advantage of vapor phase hydrogen peroxide (VPHP) is that it can readily react to form reactive free radicals, which perform the sterilization and form water and hydrogen by catalyst. Absorptive hydrophilic materials such as cellulosics hinder penetration due to hydrogen bonding and necessitate the use of hydrophobic materials, i.e., polyethylene or polypropylene, as packaging materials. The 8h TWA (time-weight-average) is 1 ppm. Hydrogen peroxide sterilization is now being used for the sterilization of gloveboxes, freeze dryers, isolators and endoscopes and so on. This paper focuses on the application of VPHP to the sterilization of the endoscopes.