SteriPulse-XL® RS-3000 Sterilization Systems

APPLICATIONS

• Sterilizing or decontaminating food, medical   devices, packaging materials, blood or   pharmaceutical  products

• Validate operating parameters for inline   processing

FEATURES

• R&D Benchtop (Model RS-3000C) and inline   processing systems available Models RS-3000B   and RS-3000M)

• Short pulses prevent excessive heat buildup and   accomplish sterilization without overheating the

  product

• Front-panel operator control (Models RS-3000B   and RS-3000C) or PLC control (Model RS-3000M)

• No toxic materials, such as mercury or   microwaves are involved

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The SteriPulse-XL Systems are high energy, pulsed UV light sterilization systems that have been shown to completely eradicate microorganisms (1) and provide a higher rate of sterilization than continuous mercury UV exposure. A revolutionary xenon lamp at the heart of the system delivers high energy pulses of UV light that penetrate deeply to achieve unprecedented degrees of decontamination. The pulsed UV light process is environmentally benign since it does not create or use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or create suspended airborne particulates.

PULSED UV LAMP

Rapid, high intensity, broad spectrum UV light emitted by the clear fused quartz lamp causes formation of Pyrimidone dimers in DNA, resulting in genetic damage to cells and their ultimate destruction. Types of damage induced by pulsed light are: (a) photolysis; (b) loss of colony-forming ability (death); (c) inability to support phage growth (enzyme inactivation) and (d) destruction of nucleic acid.

STERILIZATION CHAMBER

The SteriPulse-XL Sterilization Chamber, with removable Lamp Housing, is detached from the Controller. Ozone is evacuated to ensure EPA ozone level compliance in the workplace. Forced air evacuation is in the range of 1-4 volumes per minute to ensure no heat buildup within the chamber during sterilization. The Chamber does not evacuate air borne pathogens nor introduce air borne pathogens into the Chamber while the system is in the ON cycle. Microbe filters, ozone resistant, are used at both the inlet and outlets of the ventilation path to ensure containment of air borne pathogens. The Chamber has an interlocking door for lockout during the sterilization ON cycle. The door interlock switch is connected with the safety interlock switches in the Controller. The Chamber and insert are made of stainless steel construction for ease of sterilization and disinfection. This construction also insures the Chamber is able to withstand UV light and heat conditions, experienced under normal operating conditions.

MODEL CONFIGURATIONS

The SteriPulse-XL is available in three application specific configurations.

Model RS-3000B is a basic sterilization system offering a Controller unit and a standalone 16" Lamp Housing with Clear Fused Quartz (CFQ) lamp. The Controller provides all power to the Lamp Housing as well as complete operator control of the sterilization process using front-panel controls.

Model RS-3000B Controller, 16" Linear Lamp Housing and LiteMark-XL mounted on housing

Model RS-3000C is a complete benchtop sterilization system with Controller unit and separate Sterilization Chamber containing a 16" Lamp Housing and Clear Fused Quartz (CFQ) lamp. The Controller provides all power to the Lamp Housing as well as complete operator control of the sterilization process using front-panel controls. Safety interlocks are provided to protect the user from exposure from the lamp when the chamber door is open.

Model RS-3000M is a modular system designed for ease of integration into large scale sterilization systems. Units include a Controller, High Voltage Power Supply Module, and a standalone 16" Lamp Housing with CFQ lamp. System control is via a remote PLC.

Model RS-3000M Controller, Power Supply, 16" Linear Lamp Housing and LiteMark-XL mounted on lamp housing

LAMP HOUSING COOLING

The 16" Linear Lamp Housing has been designed for continuous forced air cooling to insure the lamp temperature is maintained during operation. Air volume of 300 cubic feet per minute is required. Light blocking air exhaust filters are provided on the housing. To provide adequate cooling for the Lamp Housing and lamp, a blower kit is available.  

This kit includes a blower, mains power cord, air filter, flexible aluminum ducting and hose clamps.

INLINE STERILIZATION SYSTEMS

The SteriPulse-XL RS-3000B and RS-3000M systems can be applied in inline production applications, offering rapid sterilization. Model RS-3000M systems can be configured with multiple Lamp Housings to effectively increase the linear radiation length. The small bore lamp and elliptical reflector provide high peak UV irradiance for deep penetration and high speed sterilization, as well as maximum energy for dose-dependent sterilization. The ability to implement remote Programmable Logic Control (PLC) for timed sterilization (stop and sterilize), permits ease of integrating RS-3000M systems into small and large scale manufacturing systems

LITEMARK-XL LIGHT MONITOR

A useful accessory item that can be supplied with the SteriPulse-XL systems is the LiteMark-XL Light Monitor. The LiteMark-XL Monitoring System is a photo-electric detector module which is factory supplied mounted on a Lamp Housing or Sterilization Chamber to enable the operator to monitor, on a real-time basis, the performance of a Pulse UV Lamp system during its operating life. Such a capability allows the Pulse UV Lamp to be changed before the output falls below a predetermined safe minimum. It does this by sensing the light intensity from each pulse which is scattered sideways in the Lamp Housing window and relating it to the side-scattered intensity produced by the same Pulse UV Lamp when new. The side-scattered intensity produced by the new Pulse UV Lamp is designated as the “100% level”, and the intensity at any later time is compared to that 100% level to produce a percentage value slowly declining from 100% as the lamp continues in use, indicative of the status of the Pulse UV Lamp at any given time. A correlation chart must be used in conjunction with the LiteMark-XL data to obtain the reduced exposure percentage.

LiteMark-XL Mounted on Lamp Housing

MEASUREMENT OF TARGET INTENSITY

Since the LiteMark-XL detector does not look directly at the Pulse UV Lamp and is not located at the actual target surface, it does not provide an absolute calibration in joules/cm² of the energy striking that target surface. It does, however, provide an indirect and real-time means of tracking the target surface exposure at any time if the new-lamp exposure value (the “100% level”) has been measured at the target. The correspondence between the actual target surface exposure at any time and the reduced value derived from the LiteMark-XL relative value and the correlation chart will remain in close agreement during the entire effective operating life of the Pulse UV Lamp.

The starting exposure (the 100% level) at the target surface must be measured with an exposure (joules/cm2) measuring instrument having a current calibration certification. The instrument calibration certification should cover the spectral range from 200 nm to 3 microns, the nominal transmittance range of the quartz components in the light path, except in cases where narrow-band exposure data is needed. It should be noted that this real time monitoring procedure has taken place without having to interrupt operation to take an irradiance measurement with a radiometer.

DATA LOGGER SYSTEM

The incorporation of the Data Logger System into the LiteMark-XL Light Monitoring System enables the evaluation process to be carried on continuously without the need for operator calculations The Data Logger is a computerized data collection and analysis system which captures, records, processes, stores and prints radiant energy information from any Xenon Corporation Lamp Housing or Sterilization Chamber fitted with a LiteMark-XL Light Monitoring system. The Data Logger interfaces to a personal computer through an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) which is built into the output connector of the Data Logger cable, plugging directly into the computer printer port. The system operator can observe the Pulse UV Lamp intensity display on his computer monitor as either tabulated data or as a graph. Additionally the operator can input the data into an Excel-style spreadsheet for further processing off-line.