Dry heat can be used to sterilize items, but as the heat takes much longer to be transferred to the organism, both the time and the temperature must usually be increased, unless forced ventilation of the hot air is used.
The standard setting for a hot air oven is at least two hours at 160°C (320°F). A rapid method heats air to 190°C (374°F) for 6 minutes for unwrapped objects and 12 minutes for wrapped objects [1] [2].
Dry heat has the advantage that it can be used on powders and other heat-stable items that are adversely affected by steam.
