Just gotta add my 2cents to this thread......
I pretty much agree with everything Pullinbig has posted reguarding sterilization. He has covered the topic pretty well.
BA
"DOES NOT" sterilize your solution. It simply prevents live bacteria from multiplying.
Does heat sterilizing in your oven kill the bacteria......
ABSOLUTELY .
Is heat sterilizing the only way to sterilize your solution.......
NO .
When used properly, a STERILE syringe filter, or STERILE vacuum filtering flask will give you a sterile solution.
Technical data suggests that any solution passed through a .2um STERILE syringe filter will be technically sterile. Although I have been told by a microbiologist, that very few bacteria can make it through a .45um filter.
This is directly quoted from the syringe filter package insert:
"Sterility guaranteed downstream of the filter if integrity is not compromised".
Can heat degrade your hormone?....Sure. But you would have to hit temperatures that are WAY above what we are talking about for heat sterilization.
So in answer to the original question in this thread................do you need to bake your fina? No. You can simply run it through a sterile syringe filter into a sterile vial.
If you are still worried, then go ahead and heat sterilize it.