Rapid Sterilization of Cell Phones Using a Novel Portable Non-Thermal Plasma Device

摘要

Non-thermal plasma has become an increasingly useful technology across a wide variety of disciplines. Currently a number of plasma-based technologies, which deliver reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), are being investigated for therapeutic sterilization in the biomedical field. We report on a novel, non-thermal plasma/free radical system developed by SteriFre Inc., the Sterifre Countertop Sterilizer (SCS), which uses a remote source to deliver a sustained mixture of highly active RONS in a closed loop system. Our technology significantly reduces the footprint of traditional non-thermal plasma generators, and it can be packaged into a desktop unit. Herein, we demonstrate that SCS reliably and rapidly sterilizes one of the more ubiquitous and sensitive personal electronic devices, the cellular phone, which is well known to harbor microorganisms, including pathogenic species, such as Staphylococ-cus aureus. Cell phones treated with SCS for 10 minutes had 100% reduction in bacterial growth and sterilization with no detrimental or residual effects on phone performance or appearance. Effective against a wide variety of microorganisms, SCS is an innovative, low cost, and portable technology that could potentially revolutionize the current practice of device sterilization in both industrial and private settings, including hospitals and other health-care environments.