Dispensing from a sterile enclosure

摘要

A sterile or sterilizable container in which the contents are sealed has a wall provided by a rupturable membrane. Preferably the outer surface of the membrane is covered by a layer of sheet material peelably adhered thereto. To dispense the contents, another rupturable sheet is adhered to the membrane, having first removed the covering layer if present. The surface of said rupturable sheet remote from the membrane is sterile, and a sterile cutting tool is used to cut through the two rupturable layers to create an opening through which the contents can be discharged. The potentially contaminated outer surface of the container membrane is thus sealed to the adjacent surface of the rupturable sheet, which could also be contaminated, thereby minimizing the risk of such contamination being passed to the contents as they are dispensed from the container.