Plasma-catalysed Sterilization of Packaged Consumer Goods

We have developed a novel planar dielectric barrier plasma source with multiple applications, one of which is a plasma sterilizing system, capable of producing ozone directly inside sealed plastic bags. The technology can be used to sterilize packaged contents without opening them by causing a plasma discharge to be initiated inside the bag when in contact with the plasma source. The bag is undamaged, and there is no significant thermal load on the contents. Sterilization is effected by the production of ozone from the air inside the sealed container. Ozone is an effective sterilizer, killing bacteria and viruses on contact. It also has a short half-life: the ozone will have dissipated inside the sealed package before the consumer opens it. There is no ozone production outside the packaging, and the plasma system is inherently electrically safe, even in wet conditions. The applications of this technology are diverse: air-tight packaged goods such as foodstuffs, medical supplies (dressings, gauze, gowns, masks etc.) could be processed at the production point, and also retrospectively, since the technology does not require any packaging modification, and can be applied to existing product ranges. Although ozone is used industrially in some applications (particularly the sterilization of water), the ability to harness this most powerful of germicides has been hampered in the past by practical difficulties in the storage and deployment of ozone in a production setting. Our technique generates ozone only where it is needed: directly inside sealed packages; thus there is no ambient ozone hazard from remote production, neither is there any need to store toxic disinfectants on site for use in sterilization procedures, since the ozone will suffice in all contexts. This platform technology has many other applications: our ozone device can be built-in as an active surface component of biomedical laboratory equipment and even domestic appliances - anywhere that requires localised sterilization.