How long do I autoclave liquids?
How long do I sterilize?
Recently, it was reported that media was being burned during the sterilization process. One of the common misconceptions is that sterilization time is not affected by the combination of individual container volumes, total number of containers in autoclave, and how these containers are arranged. Previous information posted about sterilization did not provide an adequate guide to help a lab decide which cycle to use. Do I use a 30 minute? A 45 minute? 60 minutes?
Above you will find a table which Steris uses as a roadmap for assuming a high degree of sterility assurance in your autoclave runs. Please understand that these are only guidelines and are in terms of "time" as a function of how much "volume per flask". The minimum sterilization time, however, can vary significantly due to how many flasks you are sterilizing, how you place the flasks in the autoclave, and what type of liquid you are sterilizing. For example, the times below are for "water-like" solutions. It is possible that the sterilization time of media should be slightly shorter so it is not overcooked. Other examples might include when someone stacks flasks on top of each other or overloads the autoclave. Stacking or packing flasks in side-by-side with no space between actually can cause the inner-most flasks not to be sterilized like you might think. The sterilization time might need to lengthen in these cases. Finally, adding water to the bottom of your secondary containers can help to transfer heat evenly to your bottles or flasks.
For any questions or concerns about effective sterilization, please contact the Equipment Manager.
101813_How long do I autoclave.pdf