Use of Hot Air Oven

Hot Air Oven

Hot air ovens are electrical devices which use dry heat to sterilize. Hot air furnaces are electrical devices that use dry heat to sterilize them. Originally developed by Pasteur.

Generally, The temperature range of a hot air oven is 50 to 300 °C. It can be controlled by using a temperature regulator. The double wall insulator keeps heat and maintains energy, and the inner layer is a poor connector and a metal outer layer. There is also a full area of ​​air to help in isolation. The air circulation fan helps in the uniform distribution of heat. These are equipped with adjustable wire shelves or aluminium trays and can have an on / off switch, as well as indicators and temperature control and maintenance time. The capacities of these furnaces vary. The energy supply needs to vary from country to country, depending on the voltage and frequency (Hertz) used. Temperature-sensitive tapes or biomarkers that use bacterial germs can be used to control the effectiveness of the device during use.

Pros and cons

It does not need water and there is not much pressure inside the oven, unlike an autoclave, making it safer to work with. This makes them more suitable for use in a laboratory environment. They are much smaller than the autoclave, but they are still effective.

It can be faster than autoclave and can compare high temperatures compared to other media. Because they use dry heat instead of wet heat, some living organisms, such as prions, can not kill them each time, according to the principle of thermal disruption through oxidation.

Working Principle of Hot air oven

Dry heat sterilisation is accomplished through conduction. The temperature is consumed by the object’s surface, then gradually advances towards the object’s core, coating after coating. The entire thing will eventually reach the temperature required for sterilisation.

The majority of the damage is caused by dry heat oxidising particles. The organism dies because the primary cell components are damaged. To eradicate the most ambitious of the resistant spores, the temperature is maintained for roughly an hour.

Dry Sterilisation

Hot air ovens are electrical devices which use dry heat to sterilize. They were originally developed by Pasteur. This technique is suitable for articles like glassware, powders, oil containing materials, metal equipment. Hot air oven works in a manner so that items placed inside the oven don & rsquorsquo; t catch fire or meltdown. It basically works on the principle of construction where heat travels on the surface of the material and then to the centre of the item. It is called dry sterilization process because the treatment is done by using the hot air. As the air becomes hot, it becomes lighter and moves towards the ceiling of the chamber. When air crashes with the chamber, it moves towards the ground of the chamber. This creates circular motion of air in the chamber. This circular flow ensures the appropriate and consistent heating throughout the chamber. This is comparative a long process than autoclaving or moist sterilization. Therefore, a few organizational skills are required if it is used in the medical laboratory, so that operator can make a schedule of sterilization process.

Moist Sterilisation

Autoclave is a device used in dry sterilization. It is very similar to the pressure boiling process. The autoclave is filled with water fumes that are created by heating water to a boiling point. Pressure is created inside the chamber to make the process faster. The advantage of using wet sterilization is to get rid of organisms like prions very easily. But this method is avoided because of the vapors’ effect on equipment separately over time.