The chemical sterilization of liquid media with beta‐propiolactone and ethylene oxide

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Abstract
The effectiveness of beta‐propiolactone (BPL) and ethylene oxides as sterilants for liquid microbiological media was studied. Preliminary tests against heavy suspensions of B. coagulans in various media confirmed the sterilizing levels found by earlier investigators. In actinomycin fermentation tests, both compounds were found to sterilize effectively at concentrations up to 0·5 per cent without significant effects on the growth‐promoting qualities of the medium. At the concentrations required to sterilize large numbers of spores (0·5–1·0 per cent), however, both agents exhibit inhibitory effects on the fermentation. In these cases BPL is less damaging than ethylene oxide.