Ethylene oxide sterilization of bone grafts. Residual gas concentration and fibroblast toxicity.

We examined the concentration of ethylene oxide in bone allografts after gas sterilization. Chips of the human femoral head were investigated. Residual gas concentration was determined by gas chromatography after the bone chips had been subjected to defatting and freeze-drying, followed by ethylene oxide gas sterilization. Bones were prepared in various ways in an attempt to reduce the concentration of residual ethylene oxide. The concentration was higher when gas sterilization was performed before freeze-drying than when it was done afterwards. An experiment performed with fibroblasts showed the high toxicity of residual ethylene oxide in bone chips, even when the concentration was very low. The growth of fibroblast was reduced more in medium which had been shaken with bones sterilized with ethylene oxide before freeze-drying than in medium which had been shaken with bones sterilized after freeze-drying. The higher residual ethylene oxide concentrations resulted in a decrease in fibroblastic culture activity. Our experiment showed the importance of reducing the residual ethylene oxide gas concentration. Defatting and freeze-drying result in lower residual ethylene oxide concentrations.