| abstract |
Methods of cleaning a medical device are provided via exposing the medical device to a compressed CO 2 -based mixture. The compressed CO 2 -based mixture includes carbon dioxide, a surfactant, and water in the form of water-in-CO 2 microemulsions. In one particular embodiment, the ratio of water-to-surfactant mixed together in the CO 2 has a range of about 5-100 molecules of water per molecule of surfactant (e.g., about 5-30 molecules of water per molecule of surfactant). |