Method for sterilizing and/or deactivating adventitious agents associated with biological materials

1. A method effective to protect one or more properties of a biological material or device containing said biological material during the process of sterilization which comprises:

a) packaging the biological material;

b) providing a protective atmosphere within the package, wherein providing a protective atmosphere within the package of the packaged biological material is carried out by: removing an original atmosphere under vacuum and replacing the original atmosphere, wherein removing and replacing is done by evacuating and backfilling the original atmosphere in the package, flushing the original atmosphere in the package, or substituting the original atmosphere in the package, and wherein replacing the original atmosphere is done with a protective atmosphere comprising a reducing atmosphere or a mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere, wherein the mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere contains about 0.5 to about 99% by volume reducing atmosphere;

c) sterilizing the packaged biological material or device containing said biological material in the presence of said protective atmosphere to reduce and/or inactivate an adventitious agent or adventitious agents.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises nitrogen.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reducing atmosphere comprises at least one reducing gas selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture of inert atmosphere and reducing atmosphere contains from about 5 to about 30% by volume reducing atmosphere.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the original atmosphere is removed under a vacuum of from about 1 to about 200 torr.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological material is bone.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological material is selected from the group consisting of food, tissue and therapeutically useful substance.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises argon.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises helium.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises neon.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises krypton.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises xenon.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inert atmosphere comprises carbon dioxide.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing and replacing is done by removing an original atmosphere under vacuum and replacing the original atmosphere with a reducing atmosphere or a mixture of an inert atmosphere and reducing atmosphere, wherein the mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere contains about 0.5 to about 99% by volume reducing atmosphere.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing and replacing is done by evacuating an original atmosphere under vacuum and replacing the original atmosphere with a reducing atmosphere or a mixture of an inert atmosphere and reducing atmosphere, wherein the mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere contains about 0.5 to about 99% by volume reducing atmosphere.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing and replacing is done by substituting an original atmosphere under vacuum and replacing the original atmosphere with a reducing atmosphere or a mixture of an inert atmosphere and reducing atmosphere, wherein the mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere contains about 0.5 to about 99% by volume reducing atmosphere.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing and replacing is done by flushing an original atmosphere under vacuum and replacing the original atmosphere with a reducing atmosphere or a mixture of an inert atmosphere and reducing atmosphere, wherein the mixture of an inert atmosphere and a reducing atmosphere contains about 0.5 to about 99% by volume reducing atmosphere.