Novasterilis, a local company based in Lansing and recently acquired by iFyber, LLC, was granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) by the FDA on August 20 for its carbon dioxide sterilization technology specifically to be used by healthcare facilities to enable the re-use of N95 respirators in the treatment of COVID-19.

"With the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, NovaSterilis recognized the potential for the Nova2200 to help address the extreme shortage of PPE for medical personnel by using our process to decontaminate N95 masks," said Tony Eisenhut, President and CEO of NovaSterilis. "Words cannot adequately describe the courage and devotion of healthcare workers caring for people with COVID-19. They deserve the best safety support we can offer. The NovaClean process effectively kills the coronavirus, and provides added comfort for healthcare personnel who receive their own N95 respirators back after decontamination, rather than someone else's."

Previous systems that have been used to sterilize masks in volume are quite large (shipping container size), extraordinarily expensive, and use toxic gases which must be slowly and safely dispersed after decontamination. These systems could not be readily used within a hospital due to their substantial size and cost.

The NOVA 2200™ system is small enough to be installed right on the hospital floor, innovative in that it penetrates deep within materials targeted for decontamination, does not require complicated disposal of toxic gases, and completely inactivates multiple types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. With reduced turnaround time, the NovaClean process enables up to 50 respirators to be sterilized and available to healthcare personnel within 90 minutes.

The EUA paves the way for hospitals to order the NOVA 2200 systems and adds a vital tool in their fight to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further research is underway by NovaSterilis to validate the process for use with other types of personal protective equipment.

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