Attacking the packaging
Xenon Corporation, of Wilmington, MA, US, has launched the SteriPulse-XLSurface Decontamination System, a non-contact sterilisation system that instantly kills micro-organisms on the outside of packages containing sterile contents, thus helping to prevent packaged contents from becoming contaminated upon opening.
Pulsed UV light from 16-inch lamps sanitises the exterior of the packaging by destroying the DNA repair mechanism of microbes. The lamps, which deliver high peak energy 100,000 times more powerful than the sun, are capable of 6 log kill in under one second. The system, which does not damage the pack contents, eliminates the need for vapours and toxic chemicals and can be integrated into on-line isolation transfer ports.