Table 1.

Microorganism inactivation ability of different sterilization techniques.

Category	Technique	Inactivation level	Mycobacteria	Vegetative bacteria	Bacteria spores	Nonenveloped virus	Enveloped virus	Prions	Fungal
Heat	Heat treatment	High	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Irradiation	Gamma	High	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓
	E-beam	High	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓
	UV	Medium		✓			✓
Plasma	Plasma	High	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Chemical sterilization	EtO	High	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Peracetic acid	High		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Ethanol	Medium	✓	✓			✓		✓
	Iodine	Medium		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Novel techniques	sCO2			✓	✓	✓	✓
	Antibiotics	Low		✓
	Freeze-drying

UV: ultraviolet; EtO: ethylene oxide; sCO₂: supercritical carbon dioxide.