Ethylene oxide sterilization is a chemical process consisting of four primary variables: gas concentration, humidity, temperature and time. EO is an alkylating agent that disrupts the DNA of microorganisms, which prevents them from reproducing.

Ethylene oxide (also known as EO or EtO) is a low temperature gaseous process widely used to sterilize a variety of healthcare products, such as single-use medical devices. Through the use of a vacuum-based process, EO sterilization can efficiently penetrate surfaces of most medical devices and its lower temperature makes it an ideal process for a wide variety of materials.