Could Ozone Emerge as Sterilization Method of Choice for Advanced Medtech?

Anacail Ltd., a start-up spun out of the University of Glasgow, is developing a new approach to sterilizing medical devices using ozone. The company reported that it has been awarded a grant through Innovate UK to develop a high-throughput, scalable, and environmentally benign process. During the two-year project, Anacail aims to integrate ozone sterilization and packaging into a single process. Dick Barton, senior product engineer for Anacail, tells MD+DI that alternatives to traditional technologies such as EtO, radiation, and steam sterilization are needed for today’s medtech technologies. “Modern medical and life science products are increasingly sophisticated devices in terms of materials such as advanced polymers and novel surface coatings. Furthermore, the incorporation of electronic or optic components in an active device adds further complexity and sophistication to the device,” he said. “Traditional sterilization techniques are mature technologies, which when developed were never intended to sterilize such complex or fragile devices. Such techniques are now causing significant damage to new and emerging devices. For example, autoclaving can damage surfaces and bulk materials through thermal degradation, dimensional change, or moisture-induced corrosion. Radiation can cause irreparable damage to integrated circuits and cause significant degradation of polymeric materials through cross linking or ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Sterilization Source Type: news