Patent ID: 11958647
Assignee: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  A | IPC A  B

Claim 0:
1. A method of EtO sterilizing a prefilled syringe, comprising:
providing a syringe prefilled with a sterilization-sensitive material, the sterilization-sensitive material being adversely affected when exposed to ethylene oxide (EtO) and having an initial pH within an acceptable pH range as defined by the United States Pharmacopeia;
initiating a preprocessing stage of an EtO sterilization procedure cycle on the syringe to initiate growth of microorganisms on an exterior of the syringe] initiating a wash and conditioning stage of the EtO sterilization procedure cycle on the syringe to remove air from both the syringe and a treatment chamber containing the syringe, wherein the wash and conditioning stage includes raising a temperature of the treatment chamber to a conditioning temperature within a range of 85-130° F.;
initiating an EtO sterilization stage of the EtO sterilization procedure cycle on the syringe within the treatment chamber to sterilize the exterior of the syringe; and
initiating a wash and post exposure process of the EtO sterilization procedure cycle to remove EtO gas from the treatment chamber;
wherein upon completing the EtO sterilization procedure cycle, a resultant pH of the sterilization-sensitive material remains within the acceptable pH range as defined by the United States Pharmacopeia.