Patent ID: 7666354

Claim:
A method of sterilizing an endoscope which comprises a step of contacting a substance to be sterilized with an aqueous composition comprising a peroxycarboxylic acid represented by the general formula (I): wherein R 1 represents a C1-C 10 alkyl group which may be substituted with a halogen atom, an alkoxy group, or an alkylsulfonyl group, L represents CH R 11 -L 12 (wherein R 11 represents a hydrogen atom or an unsubstituted C1-C4 alkyl group, and L 12 represents a C1-C11 divalent linking group which may be substituted with an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a hydroxy group, an alkoxy-substituted alkyl group, or a carboxyl group), or R 1 and L may combine to form a ring, wherein the peroxycarboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of compounds 1, 2, 3, 24, and 28: