Sterilization with Nitrogen Dioxide Gas: A New Tool for Designers and Manufacturers

Noxilizer has developed a room temperature sterilization process for medical devices that is based on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas. Currently, industrial sterilizers and contract sterilization services using NO2 gas are being offered to medical device manufacturers for terminal sterilization during the manufacturing process. A hospital model is also being developed for use in the clinical setting as a means of sterilizing reusable medical devices. As such, designers should be aware of this technology today for disposable and implantable devices, and also in the future for reusable devices sterilized in hospitals using NO2 gas sterilizers. At present, the terminal sterilization market for medical devices is primarily serviced by ethylene oxide (EO) gas or radiation processes, with gamma accounting for the majority of radiation sterilization. In this article, NO2 sterilization is discussed in the context of other gas sterilization processes, but it may also be applicable to devices that are sterilized with gamma.