Sterilization
1/16/2009
“Sterilization (or sterilisation, see spelling differences)
refers to any process that effectively kills or eliminates transmissible agents
(such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, spore forms, etc.) from a surface, equipment,
article of food or medication, or biological culture medium. Sterilization does
not, however, remove prions. Sterilization can be achieved through application
of heat, chemicals, irradiation, high pressure or filtration.”
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_(microbiology) (1/16/2008)
Warning: Sometimes the older links no longer work. Go to the US Patent number search page, copy the Patent number into the search box and search. For the articles, use your browser to go the Journal site.
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Notes
“A prion is thought to be an infectious agent that, according to
current scientific consensus, is comprised entirely of a propagated, mis-folded
protein. The mis-folded form of the prion protein
has been implicated in a number of diseases in a variety of mammals, including
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as "mad cow disease") in
cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. All hypothesized prion
diseases affect the structure of the brain or other neural tissue, and all are
currently untreatable and are always fatal. In
general usage, prion refers to the theoretical unit of infection.
Scientifically speaking, PrPC refers to the endogenous prion protein,
which is found in a multitude of tissues, while PrPSC refers to the
misfolded form of PrPC, and is responsible for the formation of
amyloid plaques that lead to neurodegeneration.”
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion (1/16/2008)
“Prions are hypothesized to infect and propagate by refolding abnormally into
a structure which is able to convert normal molecules of the protein into the
abnormally structured form. All known prions induce the formation of an amyloid
fold, in which the protein polymerises into an aggregate consisting of tightly
packed beta sheets. This altered structure is extremely stable and accumulates
in infected tissue, causing cell death and tissue damage.
This stability means that prions are resistant to denaturation by
chemical and physical agents, making disposal and containment of these particles
difficult.”
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion (1/16/2008)
“Proteins showing prion-type behavior are also found in some fungi and this
has been quite important in helping to understand mammalian prions. However,
fungal prions do not appear to cause disease in their hosts and may even confer
an evolutionary advantage through a form of protein-based inheritance.”
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion (1/16/2008)
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Review Articles
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US Patents
12/2/2008
7,459,133
System for automatic/continuous sterilization of packaging machine components
11/4/2008
7,445,441
Three-dimensional printing apparatus and methods of manufacture including
sterilization or disinfection, for example, using ultraviolet light
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Journal Articles
1/16/2008
Influence of electron beam sterilization on
polymers when incubated in different media
(p 3113-3120)
Journal of Applied Polymer Science 111 #6 (2009)
Abstract
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Roger D. Corneliussen
Editor
Telephone: 610 883 0055
rcorneliussen@4spe.org
www.maropolymeronline.com
Copyright 2008 by Roger D. Corneliussen