A stove is a widely used instrument in clinical laboratories for drying and sterilizing glass and metal containers. According to the mode of operation, there are typically two types of laboratory stoves: those operating by natural convection and those operating by forced convection. 

Laboratory stoves, usually made of stainless steel, which provides great durability, have a microprocessor that allows to maintain a uniform temperature, which can be adjusted digitally. Natural convection stoves are characterized by extracting air from the environment in which the stove is located. And forced convection stoves, they generate air inside the equipment in a forced way, and this air is at room temperature.

Ovens, also known as drying stoves, are devices used to dry and sterilize glass and metal containers used in various laboratory processes. The laboratory stoves allow to carry out the sterilization by dry heat, where hot air is used to carry out this process, these equipments allow a uniform distribution of heat inside, where the material is exposed to temperatures of approximately 170ºC for 2 hours. 

Dry heat sterilization works by destroying microorganisms by oxidation of their cellular components. This is a less efficient process than wet heat sterilization because microorganisms die more quickly when in the presence of water because it allows their protein configuration to be altered more easily and provides a means of evenly distributing heat throughout the sterilizing equipment's internal chamber. For this reason, to achieve the sterilization of the material using dry heat, higher temperatures should be applied for a longer time.

The stove or also called drying oven is a device used to dry and sterilize glass and metal containers. This is achieved, thanks to the fact that inside the house the temperature is higher than in the environment. According to its mode of operation there are basically two types of stove: those operating by natural convection and those operating by forced convection.

Sterilization can be carried out through a laboratory stove, which becomes effective inside the stove and is called dry heat sterilization, which is carried out only at 180 °C for 2 hours. During this process the glass or metal is heated by the air at high temperature, eliminating the possibility of any kind of biological activity.