Hi, you may want to check out some previous posts on the Steri-pen made several months ago. I have the pen and have checked it in my lab. It works and works well, although I had to use 2 rounds (2X 60 secs) to achieve sterilization in some heavily contaminated test samples. It is effective against spores. I think for the cost, filtration is the better way to go. Let me know if you need more information. Pete