English edit

Etymology edit

bio- +‎ burden

Noun edit

bioburden (plural bioburdens)

  1. A measure of an object's contamination with microorganisms.
    • 2001, Anne Booth, Sterilization Validation and Routine Operation Handbook: Radiation[1], CRC Press, →ISBN, page 50:
      This is appropriate for devices containing low numbers of naturally occurring bioburden. Caution must be used because artificial inoculation may not represent the natural relationship between the normal flora and the device surfaces and []

Further reading edit