Use of a low-pressure plasma discharge for the decontamination and sterilization of medical devices

Nonequilibrium low-pressure plasma discharges are extensively studied for their applications in the field of decontamination and sterilization of medical devices. The aim of this contribution is to discuss and demonstrate feasibility of oxygen low-pressure inductively coupled plasma (ICP) discharges for removal of various kinds of biological contamination. We demonstrate the ability of ICP discharges for the sterilization of bacterial spores and the removal of biological contamination from proteins and pyrogens.