Decontamination Method And System Implementing It

• US 20110206559A1
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EMD Millipore Corporation (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Millipore Corporation
• Inventors: Ribault, Sebastien, Noehringer, Christel, Kieffer, Vincent
• Granted Patent: US 8,815,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/68.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/208 Hydrogen peroxide
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/24 Apparatus using programmed or automatic operation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00277 Special precautions to avoid contamination (e.g. enclosures, glove- boxes, sealed sample carriers, disposal of contaminated material)
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/02 using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations G01N35/0098 and G01N35/0099 take precedence

Abstract

The method of microbiological decontamination of a machine comprising an enclosure (5, 100) for treating a support (6) and a conveyor comprising a shuttle (30), comprises the steps of obtaining a container (6) adapted to be received on said shuttle (30) and to diffuse biocidal agent in said enclosure (5, 100), of placing said container (6) on said shuttle (30), of moving said shuttle (30) within said enclosure, and of evacuating said agent. The microbiological analysis system comprises a container (6), a microbiological analysis machine comprising at least two stations (2, 3, 4) for treatment of said support (6), a conveyor comprising a shuttle (30) adapted to receive and to move said support (6), said container (6) being adapted to be received on said shuttle (30), as well as means (150, 156, 159) for evacuating said biocidal agent.

Claims

1. System for microbiological analysis of a support comprising:

a container (6) adapted to diffuse a biocidal agent;

a machine (1) for microbiological analysis comprising a treatment enclosure (5, 100) adapted to receive said support (6), at least two stations (2, 3, 4) for treating said support (6), a conveyor (10) comprising a shuttle (30) adapted to receive and to move said support (6), between said stations (2, 3, 4), said container being (6) adapted to be received on said shuttle (30), as well as means (150, 156, 159) for evacuating said biocidal agent.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a precursor agent of said biocidal agent to deposit on said container (6) and to activate to diffuse said biocidal agent, said machine also comprising means (4) for activating said precursor agent.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said activating means comprise a station (4) for heating said container (6).

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the heating station (4) comprises a microwave cavity (100) and a magnetron (101).