We try to develop the sterilization process for medical instruments using atmospheric pressure plasma. The reactor chamber is remotely located from the plasma and a metal mesh for eliminating charged particles is installed between them. Only reactive neutral species such as plasma-excited gas molecules and radicals were separated from the plasma and sent to the reactor chamber for sterilization. Deterioration of materials by heat, UV irradiation, electrical fields, and charged particles generated from plasma is avoided in the sterilization process. As a result, using a humidified mixture of 0.1 to 20% oxygen addition to nitrogen as the plasma source gas shows more than 6-log reduction of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores. The mixture gas of 0.1% oxygen addition to nitrogen shows the large sterilization effect without ozone generation. Under this condition, the surface of titanium, silicon rubber, PET, and nylon-6 are not affected by the sterilization.
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