AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Plasma Science and Technology Friday Sessions
       Session PS-FrM

Paper PS-FrM5
A Novel Way of using Plasma to Sterilize Objects for Use in Medical, Food or Pharmaceutical Applications

Friday, November 13, 2009, 9:40 am, Room B2

Session: Plasma Science for Medical and Biological Applications
Presenter: N.B. Koster, TNO Science and Industry, Netherlands
Authors: N.B. Koster, TNO Science and Industry, Netherlands
F.P. Wieringa, TNO Science and Industry, Netherlands
R. Koops, TNO Science and Industry, Netherlands
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From literature it is known that plasma is capable of sterilizing objects. A number of the great advantages of plasma sterilization is that it is relatively cool and that it also has a cleaning action besides the sterilisation process. A disadvantage of plasma sterilization is that for a good process the object has to be placed in a reactor and after the process is completed the object has to be packed in an enclosure and sealed. This is a possible source of cross contamination due to handling and exposure to the environment. We will present a novel way of using plasma’s to sterilize an object without this disadvantage. This process is called Plasma in a Bag (PiB) and has the benefit that the object is packed and sealed from the environment before the process starts and requires no handling after the sterilization process has finished. Also the way of packing enables the user to see that the enclosure is still intact and that the integrity of the object remains valid even after a long shelf life. We will show results on the efficiency of the process for several pathogens at different plasma conditions. This new process enables the use of new materials and electronics for medical applications or can replace a number of existing sterilisation techniques.