This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to research and develop a novel, reliable, affordable, technology for effective decontamination/ sterilization of medical waste. The technology is based on an air/gas sterilant produced in a non-thermal plasma source powered by a standard microwave oven magnetron. During preliminary tests, an air stream containing free radicals produced in the plasma effluent effectively inactivated 100% of highly concentrated microorganisms (107/ml) deposited on a Petri dish and killed 106 spores imbedded in a small paper disk with the temperature of the sterilization process maintained at ~30oC. During Phase I of the program tests of sterilizing efficacy of wide range medical waste will be validated.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency hospitals and clinics in the United States generate up to one million ton of medical waste, and as much as 15% of it poses a potential infection hazard. New emerging decontamination technologies are on demand, especially those, which do not produce harmful byproducts. Our technology is environmentally friendly and should be relatively easy to market.
