Plasma Technology

Plasma cleaning has been known for over a hundred years and is widely used in manufacturing. Most applications process in batches using reduced pressure chambers and special gas mixtures. Cerionx has applied basic plasma technology and invented an inline, continuous process using room air at atmospheric pressure. Pipets are cleaned and sterilized using about the same amount of power as a light bulb.

When tips are introduced into the TipCharger Cleaning Station, an electric field at the surface of the electrodes is produced. The electric field creates a discharge between the electrodes; the air around each tip ionizes. The energized air (plasma) causes the breakdown of organic molecules, shattering them into individual atoms.

Plasma technology generates no solid or liquid waste and an extremely small amount of gas by-products. The "green" benefit of plasma technology in the automated lab translates to reduction of hazardous waste since solvents are no longer required and previously disposable plastic tips can be cleaned and reused.