What is the optimal filling and temperature for autoclaving Carbomer solution?

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SUMMARY

The optimal filling for autoclaving Carbomer solution in 10L and 5L media bottles is 8L and 4L, respectively, while maintaining a 25% headspace to prevent boiling over. The lead chemist recommends autoclaving at 126°C for 30 minutes, but concerns about the impact on the solution's rheological properties suggest that 121°C for 30 minutes may be more appropriate. It is essential to consider the correlation between solution volume and exposure time, as larger volumes require longer sterilization times. Reference materials on heat penetration can provide additional insights into this process.

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  • Understanding of autoclaving principles and practices
  • Knowledge of rheological properties of Carbomer solutions
  • Familiarity with sterilization temperature and time relationships
  • Experience with heat penetration studies in sterilization
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  • Explore sterilization guidelines for different solution volumes and temperatures
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Chemists, laboratory technicians, and quality control professionals involved in the sterilization of viscous solutions, particularly those working with Carbomer formulations.

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We have 2 media bottles: 10L and 5L , autoclavable glass with screw-on high-temp caps. We are trying to autoclave about 12kg of Carbomer solution.

2 Questions:

Some people say to leave 25% head space for boiling over, some people say 50% head space. Since we need about 12L solution autoclaved and only have 15L of glass volume, what's the optimal filling of each media bottle. My guess is 8L solution in the 10L MB, and 4L in the 5L MB - is that pushing it? Could I potentially lose a lot of solution by doing this? Or should I just use a 20L glass carboy with a foil lid? Thanks.

The lead chemist wants to autoclave at 126C for 30 minutes. I'm concerned with the extra high temperature and longer duration will affect the rheological properties of the carbomer solution (e.g. make it more viscous, etc). I believe 121C at 20 minutes would be enough time for a proper sterilization... then recently I read that solution volumes should positively correlate with exposure times, (e.g. larger volume = longer exposure time). Hence my question, we have 5 options. 126C, 123C, 121C? for 30 or 20 minutes? I'm leaning towards, 121C/30min.

Thanks for reading - and I hope everyone can learn from this discussion.
 
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This sounds like a similar process used to treat canned goods. There are tables of heats and times. Usually a study needs to be done to determine the "heat penetration" of the product and can size. Read http://www.iftps.org/pdf/heat_pen_6_04.pdf"
 
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