TY - JOUR T1 - Comparative Sterilization Effectiveness of Plasma in O<sub>2</sub>-H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Mixtures and Ethylene Oxide Treatment JF - PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology JO - PDA J Pharm Sci Technol SP - 204 LP - 210 VL - 61 IS - 3 AU - J.M.F. Silva AU - A.J. Moreira AU - D.C. Oliveira AU - C.B. Bonato AU - R.D. Mansano AU - T.J.A. Pinto Y1 - 2007/05/01 UR - http://journal.pda.org/content/61/3/204.abstract N2 - We investigated the influence of variable parameters of plasma sterilization and compared its effectiveness with that of ethylene oxide using a reactive ion etching plasma reactor at 13.56 MHz. Gases tested were pure oxygen and oxygen-hydrogen peroxide mixtures in 190/10, 180/20, and 160/40 sccm ratios with constant gas flow at 200 sccm, pressure at 0.100 torr, radio-frequency power at 25 W, 50 W, 100 W, and 150 W, and temperature below 60 °C. Ethylene oxide sterilization was performed using 450 mg/L at 55 °C, 60% humidity, and −0.65 and 0.60 kgf/cm2 pressure. The biological indicator was Bacillus atrophaeus ATCC 9372, with exposure times of 3 to 120 min. Observed D values were 215.91, 55.55, 9.19, and 2.98 min for pure oxygen plasma at 25 W, 50 W, 100 W, and 150 W, respectively. Oxygen-hydrogen peroxide plasma produced D values of 6.41 min (190/10), 6.47 min (180/20), and 4.02 min (160/40) at 100 W and 1.47 min (190/10), 3.11 min (180/20), and 1.94 min (160/40) at 150 W. Ethylene oxide processes resulted in a D value of 2.86 min. Scanning electron microscopy analyses showed damage to the spore cortex. ER -