Use of a low-pressure plasma discharge for the decontamination and sterilization of medical devices

Rossi, François; Kylián, Ondrej; Rauscher, Hubert; Gilliland, Douglas; Sirghi, Lucel

doi:10.1351/pac200880091939

Pure Appl. Chem., 2008, Vol. 80, No. 9, pp. 1939-1951

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/pac200880091939

Use of a low-pressure plasma discharge for the decontamination and sterilization of medical devices

François Rossi, Ondrej Kylián, Hubert Rauscher, Douglas Gilliland and Lucel Sirghi

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Via E. Fermi 1, 21020 Ispra (VA), Italy

Abstract: Nonequilibrium low-pressure plasma discharges are extensively studied for their applications in the field of decontamination and sterilization of medical devices. The aim of this contribution is to discuss and demonstrate feasibility of oxygen low-pressure inductively coupled plasma (ICP) discharges for removal of various kinds of biological contamination. We demonstrate the ability of ICP discharges for the sterilization of bacterial spores and the removal of biological contamination from proteins and pyrogens.