High temperature, short time heating system and method of sterilizing or pasteurizing heat sensitive biological fluids
OwnerStanley E. Charminventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A high temperature, short time heating system and method for the pasteurization and/or sterilization of heat sensitive biological fluids, which method comprises: adding a dielectric enhancing additive to the biological fluid; subjecting the biological fluid to microwave energy to heat rapidly the biological fluid for a short time period to a pasteurizing or sterilization temperature; cooling the biological fluid; optionally removing the dielectric enhancing additive; and recovering an aseptic biological fluid.
Claims21
A method for the high temperature, short time heating of a heat-sensitive biological fluid comprising proteinaceous material and a pathogenic organism agent, which method comprises:
- (a) rapidly heating the heat-sensitive biological fluid, having a dielectric constant of over about 90 at a rate of over about 25.degree. C. per second for a heating time period to a preselected heating temperature by the employment of microwave heating energy to provide a heated biological fluid;
- (b) holding the said heated biological fluid at the heating preselected temperature for a holding time period of up to about two seconds;
- (c) rapidly cooling the heated biological fluid to a preselected lower temperature for a cooling time period to provide a cooled biological fluid;
- and
- (d) circulating the heated biological fluid while rapidly heating, holding and rapidly cooling the biological fluid;
- wherein
- (e) the heating, holding and cooling time periods are sufficiently short and the preselected heating temperature and the lower temperature are sufficient not to effect the desirable properties of the proteinaceous material of the heat-sensitive biological fluid, but sufficient in time periods and selected temperature for at least the partial destruction of said pathogenic organism agent in the biological fluid.
A method for the high temperature, short time heating of a blood plasma or serum to destroy an infectious agent therein, which method comprises:
- (a) adding a dielectric salt additive to the blood plasma or serum to increase the dielectric constant of the blood plasma or serum to provide a dielectric constant of said blood plasma or serum of about 90 to 300;
- and
- (b) rapidly heating the dielectric salt-containing blood plasma or serum to a selected temperature of about 60.degree. C. or more for a holding period of time of less than about 0.1 seconds by microwave heating energy to substantially destroy the agent without substantially altering albumin or blood clotting Factors VIII and IX of the blood plasma or serum.
A high temperature, short time heat process system for the rapid heating, holding and cooling of a heat-sensitive biological fluid to destroy undesirable biological agents therein without substantial alteration of desirable proteinaceous components or properties of the biological fluid, which system comprises:
- (a) a source of heat-sensitive biological fluid to be heated;
- (b) a source of dielectric enhancing additive for addition to the biological fluid in an amount sufficient to increase the dielectric constant of said biological fluid to a dielectric constant of over about 90;
- (c) microwave heating energy means to heat rapidly for a heating time period said biological fluid at a rate of about 25.degree. C. to 8,000.degree. C. per second to a preselected heating temperature for a holding time period of up to about two seconds;
- (d) cooling means to cool rapidly the heated biological fluid to a preselected cooler temperature in a cooling time period to provide a cooled biological fluid;
- (e) circulating means within the microwave heating energy means and cooling means to permit the flow of said biological fluid through said microwave heating energy means in a microwave heating relationship and through the cooling means in a cooling relationship;
- (f) pump means to pump said biological fluid through said circulating means;
- and
- (g) means to recover the cooled biological fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.