Sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices
Sophie Lerouge, Anne Simmons
Woodhead Publishing
It is vital that all materials and devices that are implanted in, or come into contact with, the human body are safely and effectively sterilized to eliminate any harmful agents.  Following an introduction to the key concepts and challenges involved in sterilization, chapters explore a range of traditional and non-traditional sterilization techniques, such as using steam and dry heat, ionizing radiation, ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma and ozone and steam formaldehyde. Other chapters discuss sterilization techniques for polymers, drug-device products, tissue allografts, antimicrobial coatings for "self-sterilization", the challenge presented by prions and endotoxins in the sterilization of reusable medical devices, and future trends.