Effect of Moisture on Ethylene Oxide Sterilization.

Bacterial cells dehydrated beyond a critical point no longer react uniformly to ethylene oxide sterilization. The percentage of cells resistant to the lethal effect of ethylene oxide after desiccation is often as small as 0.1 to 0.001%. However, 5% resistant cells were observed with one type of microorganism dried in broth. The presence of organic matter increases the percentage of cells that become resistant to ethylene oxide after dehydration. The phenomenon is produced by exposing cells to a vacuum or a chemically desiccated atmosphere. It is not a permanent change, because the resistant cells rapidly become susceptible if wetted with water. On the other hand, mere exposure to a high relative humidity (RH), i.e., 75 to 98%, after desiccation requires 6 and 4 days, respectively, to overcome this resistance. Moisture studies showed that there is less water in bacterial cells that have been desiccated and then equilibrated to successively high RH values up to 100% RH, than in cells that have not been desiccated, but allowed to dry naturally until equilibrated to the same RH values.