An autoclave uses pressure and steam to sterilize the contents. It's quick and uses lower temps than air ovens. Hot air ovens use dry heat, high temperatures and longer times to achieve the same result. Both achieve the same result, but do it in very different ways.
Autoclave: Operates at a lower temperature, usually around 121°C, but uses high pressure (15 psi) to increase the efficiency of steam penetration. This pressure makes autoclaves suitable for sterilizing a wide variety of materials, including liquids and heat-sensitive items.
There are a number of differences between dry heat sterilization and steam sterilization, the most obvious difference being that autoclaves use steam, vacuum, and pressure to clean tools and cages, while dry heat sterilization simply uses hot air.
DISADVANTAGES OF HOT AIR OVEN
1) Approach that takes a long time since heat penetration and germ death happen slowly. 2) Most material cannot be with stand high temperature for example, plastic and rubber products cannot be dry heated Sterilized because the temperatures employed (160°-170°c) are to high for them.
Why is autoclaving items better for sterilization purposes than boiling them? Steam is a very efficient medium for heat transference. As a result, you can achieve higher temperatures using steam than boiling water, which makes it a more effective method of killing bacteria and other microorganisms.
Autoclaves were developed to clean tools that could not be sterilized with heat or detergents alone. Thanks to the pressurization component of the process, an autoclave can reach steam temperatures higher than normal, which allows them to operate relatively quickly and decontaminate all parts of an instrument.
Effective at Killing Bacteria
During the sterilization process in an autoclave, temperatures begin to reach these high temperatures within a short time. Steam is known to eradicate harmful microorganisms, making the autoclave machine a highly effective method of destroying bacteria on equipment.
Most labs use autoclaving as their laboratory sterilization method of choice, using pressurized steam to heat the material to be sterilized. This is a very effective method that kills all microbes, spores, and viruses, although for some specific bugs, especially high temperatures or incubation times are required.
Hot air ovens use extremely high temperatures over several hours to destroy microorganisms and bacterial spores. The ovens use conduction to sterilize items by heating the outside surfaces of the item, which then absorbs the heat and moves it towards the center of the item.
The two common steam-sterilizing temperatures are 121°C (250°F) and 132°C (270°F).
Autoclaving is better than boiling because it can generate much higher temperatures where microbes that are boiling-resistant cannot survive. Steam sterilisation is highly efficient, making it one of the most reliable forms of sterilisation. Autoclaving can be used on various instruments.
A laboratory hot air oven is widely used in scientific research, pharmaceutical industries, and microbiology labs for sterilization, drying, and heat treatment of glassware in various industries. It operates by circulating heated air to ensure uniform temperature distribution, removing moisture and contaminants.
Tyndallization, also called fractional sterilization and discontinuous heating, is a form of sterilization that involves boiling the goods to be sterilized in their cans or jars at 100 degrees Centigrade for about 15 to 20 minutes a day, for three days in a row.
An autoclave uses pressure and steam to sterilize the contents. It's quick and uses lower temps than air ovens. Hot air ovens use dry heat, high temperatures and longer times to achieve the same result.
Disadvantages of Hot Air Ovens
In comparison to the autoclave or other moist heat sterilization methods, a hot air oven has a lower heat capacity and it's slower in killing microorganisms. It's not suitable to sterilize all equipment, like plastic wares and heat-sensitive materials.
Autoclaves operate at high temperature and pressure in order to kill microorganisms and spores. They are used to decontaminate certain biological waste and sterilize media, instruments and lab ware.
The autoclave is filled with the products and devices that need to be sterilized. The product or device comes into direct contact with steam at high temperature and pressure for a specified period of time. Pressure serves as a means to obtain the high temperatures necessary to quickly kill microorganisms.
Autoclaves are usually much faster than other sterilization methods and can sterilize a variety of materials in a much shorter period of time. This means healthcare workers can spend less time sterilizing instruments and more time providing care to patients.
Why is autoclaving rather than boiling water used for sterilization? Boiling water does not kill everything, including bacterial endospores and some protozoan cysts. Why do containers of liquid placed in an autoclave need to remain at least slightly open? If they remain closed, they may implode.
Medical devices are sterilized in a variety of ways including using moist heat (steam), dry heat, radiation, ethylene oxide (EtO) gas, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and other sterilization methods (for example, chlorine dioxide gas, vaporized peracetic acid, and nitrogen dioxide).
Hot air ovens use dry heat at 160°C for 2 hours to sterilize materials like glassware and surgical instruments. Autoclaves use high-pressure steam at 121°C for 15 minutes, which is effective for liquids and heat-sensitive materials.