Proper sterilization

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rodrom82

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sterilize cartridges.

What I learned:

  • Open the pre sterile pen cartridge package.
  • Use air injection to remove the stopper.
  • Put the item in a sterilization pouch and seal it.
  • Use a pressure cooker, Instant Pot, or autoclave with water at the bottom, elevating the sealed pouches above the water.
  • Steam for the required time.
  • After the steam cycle, maneuver the stopper back into the cartridge.
-Open when needed.

Questions:

How does opening the vial deal with debris and potentially newly introduced bacteria / yeast by opening them up?

Don't they not need rinsing with ultra pure water before inserted it into a sterilization bag?

Reading about sterilization I read that a maximum of 121°c is needed for 2+ hours to achieve sterilization.

(Research told me that the

Temperature is limited due to potentially degrading the rubber stoppers. )

Does Piercing the butyl needle stopper not degrade the effectiveness for keeping the contents sterile? I guess Auto healing is only capable withstanding so much penetration. Or do I see this wrong?

How about using UV-C + ozone for sterilization the bought (presterile pen cartridge)

Edit: added some clarification and UV-C par
 
woundcarping said:


Why not buy sterile cartridges from the start and skip the pseudo cooking?

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Because people on all forums agree that Amazon's / AliExpress vials, which are stated to be sterile, aren't.

It's said that they are not properly sterilized, or could still contain production debris.

Edit: spelling/grammar
 
I'm sure you'll make some really good jams or canned beans using this method. But even if you paid me a fortune and a half, I would never use these cartridges.
 
I understand what you're saying. But they are all sold/bought/resold on AE or Amazon. I've contacted many medical suppliers (in Belgium)(including importers)

They don't sell them of have them in their inventory.
 
I attached a research article titled: Assessment and verification of commercially available pressure cookers for laboratory sterilization

Come to think of it, are the needles and syringes purchased at Amazon and AE, or other vendors properly sterilized too?

YMMV
 
Needles and syringes I buy from medical suppliers. And official brands.

If you buy official branded(sterile). You should be ok

Brands like :

BD( Becton & Dickinson)

Terumo

GB medical

Smith and nephew
 
rodrom82 said:


Because ppl on all forums agree that Amazon's / Ali express vials that are stayed to be sterile.. aren't.

It's said that they are not properly sterilized. Or could still contain production debris

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That’s why I buy medical supplies from or through medical vendors.

I see your presumably in Belgium… I figure if you can import grey peptides you can import sterile carts and such.

How do you get the stopper back in, in a sterile manner?
 
Another possibility and I think how quite a few of these are being sterilised nowadays is Far UV. Doesn't do anything for debris but you can sterilise them without ever opening up the packaging. Nukit produces about the cheapest Far UV lamps at 222nm (safe for humans). They are mostly for killing Covid and other nasties in the air but they can also be used for sterilising things like the capsules.
 
woundcarping said:


That’s why I buy medical supplies from or through medical vendors.

I see your presumably in Belgium… I figure if you can import grey peptides you can import sterile carts and such.

How do you get the stopper back in, in a sterile manner?

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Fiddle bag to get the stopper in without opening the bag.

But this is what I found researching about sterilization of the cartridges.

I started to ask questions for myself reading comments on this from other forumposts.

Better to ask and prepare.

I'm very... Keen.. on excluding any contaniments or most things I can control regarding safety.
 
eidos said:


I buy my BD needles and water for injection at a pharmacy near Antwerp (https://www.pharmamarket.fr/). They sometimes have good deals

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woundcarping said:


That’s why I buy medical supplies from or through medical vendors.

I see your presumably in Belgium… I figure if you can import grey peptides you can import sterile carts and such.

How do you get the stopper back in, in a sterile manner?

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That why I stated that I've contacted importers of medical supplies. Around Belgium but also EU. Even when they have them, they are only used for research. And cannot guarantee sterility.

My questions are based on this. And many other posts on the forum also stating that there are no cartridges made for medical use.

Refillable injection pens usually get loaded with preloaded pen cartridges. Sterilized at the medical factory where they produce the insuline.

But my questions are not if I could buy them anywhere. But pure based on the how do I do a proper sterilization, and also question the known methods. Not to contradict them, but to learn the why.

In the mean time everyone get to relearn or learn something known/new.

Maybe the forum owner finds it interesting to sticky best practices regarding each related part of the forum.

(Not this thread)
 
What even is the point of the pens? Feels like a waste of money for something slightly more convenient.

But if you’re having to now sterilize everything…it feels much less convenient than just syringes.
 
Builderman said:


What even is the point of the pens? Feels like a waste of money for something slightly more convenient.

But if you’re having to now sterilize everything…it feels much less convenient than just syringes.

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True, but I like to filter my peptides anyway. So pen/vial ... In the end it needs to be transferred into something guaranteed to be sterile.

I do realize this is not for everyone, but eliminating every variable for those that do care about this. It does not hurt to ask the question.

(I have a Ent-p personality. It's never my intent to disagree, I'm here to learn and be part of the community)
 
Builderman said:


What even is the point of the pens? Feels like a waste of money for something slightly more convenient.

But if you’re having to now sterilize everything…it feels much less convenient than just syringes.

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Less wastage and easier setup per pin. Every syringe action looses a bit of liquid in the dead space, that is true for a catridge near the end as well but you pay it just the once and its otherwise almost no loss. Pinning with the pen is a few less actions as well so its a bit quicker and easier and has the advantage the needle doesn't first get bent up going through the vial rubber. I feel like the trade off is only really worth it for something that happens more than weekly/4 pins. Since you are filtering carts are basically just as easy as vials anyway.
 
rodrom82 said:


But pure based on the how do I do a proper sterilization, and also question the known methods

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ISO 17665:

30 min at 121°C and 2,1 bar; or 5 min at 134°C and 3 bar.

I found 7-8 ISO standards that define the processes involved from glass manufacturing, to the other components and their assembly, and how sterility is maintained throughout the process.

If you try to sterilize them yourself with heat, you’ll damage the butyl stoppers and the silicone on the inner wall, and introduce moisture into the cartridge: you won’t know what that moisture contains. If you don't have the tools to test for actual sterility at the end of your process, it's just like you haven't done anything.

There are certain processes that can no longer be performed properly in a kitchen, or even in a hospital pharmacy’s clean room. This is high-tech engineering, not crafts.
 
There seems to be a major flaw in the initial post's process: even if the vial itself is sterilized through a pressure cooker or other means, adding back the stopper, which is NOT sterilized, would de-sterilize what you just sterilized. Or is the stopper also steamed/pressure cooked alongside the vial?
 
Romulusguy said:


There seems to be a major flaw in the initial post's process: even if the vial itself is sterilized through a pressure cooker or other means, adding back the stopper, which is NOT sterilized, would de-sterilize what you just sterilized. Or is the stopper also steamed/pressure cooked alongside the vial?

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The stopper goes into the package along with the cartridge, it just does not go into the cartridge until sterilized.
 
Are you aiming to solely sterilise the cartridge?

I ask as without depyrogenation via dry heat, you may well be left with pyrogens if any bacteria have been present in the cartridge during steam sterilising. While the bacteria die during steam sterilisation (when done correctly), their dead cellular fragments (endotoxins/pyrogens) remain behind.
 
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