Abstract:
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Plasma sterilization has been extensively studied in recent years, and at present conditioning materials such as sterilization pouches or process indicators devoted to such processes should be optimized to allow transfer of the technology to the market. The present work evaluates the possibility of using wettability modification of hydrophobic textiles to detect whether Natoms
of a flowing post-discharge in sterilization conditions (1 L/min, 100W) are able to freely cross a cellulose membrane (found on the permeable side of a conventional sterilization pouch) and exert their action. Results showed that N2 postdischarge
treatment did not alter pore size of the
membrane, and the use of tailored hydrophobic
textiles was shown to be an appropriate indicator of N atom penetration inside the pouches. Depending on the initial hydrophobic treatment of the textiles, it is possible to detect differences in the density of atoms which crossed the membrane,
being capable of distinguishing between
parameters such as treatment time, or altered
hydrodynamics of the chamber. |