Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
Artif Organs. 2013 Nov;37(11):998-1002. doi: 10.1111/aor.12233.
The use of polymeric medical devices has stimulated the development of new sterilization methods. The traditional techniques rely on ethylene oxide, but there are many questions concerning the carcinogenic properties of the ethylene oxide residues adsorbed on the materials after processing. Another common technique is the gamma irradiation process, but it is costly, its safe operation requires an isolated site, and it also affects the bulk properties of the polymers. The use of gas plasma is an elegant alternative sterilization technique. The plasma promotes efficient inactivation of the microorganisms, minimizes damage to the materials, and presents very little danger for personnel and the environment. In this study we used plasma for microbial inhibition of chitosan membranes. The membranes were treated with oxygen, methane, or argon plasma for different time periods (15, 30, 45, or 60 min). For inhibition of microbial growth with oxygen plasma, the time needed was 60 min. For the methane plasma, samples were successfully treated after 30, 45, and 60 min. For argon plasma, all treatment periods were effective.
高分子医疗器械的应用刺激了新的灭菌方法的发展。传统技术依赖于环氧乙烷，但处理后吸附在材料上的环氧乙烷残留物具有致癌性，这引起了许多问题。另一种常见的技术是伽马射线辐射，但它成本高昂，其安全操作需要隔离场所，而且还会影响聚合物的整体性质。气体等离子体的使用是一种优雅的替代灭菌技术。该等离子体促进微生物的有效失活，最大限度地减少对材料的损害，并且对人员和环境的危险很小。在这项研究中，我们使用等离子体抑制壳聚糖膜中的微生物。将膜用氧气、甲烷或氩气等离子体处理不同的时间段（15、30、45 或 60 分钟）。对于用氧气等离子体抑制微生物生长，需要 60 分钟的时间。对于甲烷等离子体，在 30、45 和 60 分钟后成功处理了样品。对于氩气等离子体，所有处理时间均有效。
