Patent ID: 7642067

Claim:
A method for determining the effectiveness of a sterilization or disinfection process, said method comprising: providing a biological indicator comprising an initial known number of live bacterial spores, said known number of said live spores comprising at least one mineral selected from the group consisting of calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and sodium; exposing said biological indicator to a sterilization or disinfection process, thereby killing at least a portion of said known number of live spores, thereby generating a quantity of dead spores; contacting the dead spores with water to generate an aqueous solution comprising at least one mineral selected from the group consisting of calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and sodium released from the dead spores; measuring a parameter related to a concentration of at least one mineral released from the dead spores selected from the group consisting of calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and sodium in the aqueous solution, wherein the contacting is before the measuring; and determining the effectiveness of the sterilization or disinfection process from the parameter and the initial known number of live spores in said biological indicator.