Autoclave is an instrument to sterilize items by placing the item inside the chamber. The temperature inside the chamber is 121 degree Celsius. It is hot enough to kill all the microorganisms. This instrument is widely used in hospitals and laboratories. It is used to kill bacteria, viruses, and other dangerous chemicals. There are some people who contributed in the invention of Autoclave.
1. Denis Papin
He was a British physicist born in French. He invented steam digester in 1967. It was a cooking instrument that we also known as a pressure cooker. Now is developed into autoclave.
2. M. Lemare
He made and advanced version of Papin's steam digester in 1820. He stated that the steam digester can cook meat within half an hour. The lacking side was the serious injure caused by the steam digester.
3. Charles Chamberland
He reformed steam digester into medical or scientific instrument in 1879. He was a microbiologist who worked with Louis Pasteur. His reformation is now called as autoclave sterilizer. He also invented a filter consisted of porcelain which hole is smaller than the size of bacteria.
Before the three people who contributed in the invention of autoclave. The history of autoclave has begun far before 1967. In the ancient history, Moses wrote that the purification of materials was done by using fire and also boiling water. In 460-377 BCE, Hippocrates found that surgical instruments could be sterilized by pouring boiling water onto the instruments. In 1729, Lazzaro Spallanzani found that it needed 30 minutes to sterilize instruments by heating the instruments in a sealed glass.
The autoclave is considered as an effective sterilizer because it can generate heat more than 100 degree Celsius. Doctors, tattooists, scientists, and many other people from different profession are the people who usually use this instrument. Medical items can be sterilized with an autoclave so that the hazardous microorganism will be killed.
