Non-thermal electromagnetic sterilization

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with non-thermal electroporation. One or more electromagnetic radiation sources may be used to generate an interference pattern having at least one antinode. The electric field associated with the antinode may be configured to cause irreversible electroporation. Thus, the antinode may be suitable for at least partial sterilization by rendering cells as non-viable through electroporation. An antinode may be formed by constructive interference of two or more lobes of two or more radiation sources. An antinode may be spatially varied with respect to an object, volume, and/or surface. A controller may spatially vary an antinode according to an electroporation pattern, such as a stochastic or rasterizing pattern, to achieve a desired sterilization level and/or maintain a temperature characteristic (e.g., absolute temperature, relative temperature, and/or rate of change) with a threshold range.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for non-thermal sterilization via high-peak-field electroporation, the method comprising:
 generating microwave radiation with an interference pattern having at least one antinode within a region via a plurality of microwave radiation sources, wherein an attribute of an electric field associated with the at least one antinode is sufficient to cause electroporation of a cell wall;   spatially varying a location of the at least one antinode with respect to an object to at least partially sterilize via the electroporation at least a portion of the object where the at least one antinode overlaps the object while maintaining a temperature of a portion of the object below a sterilization temperature.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein spatially varying the location of the at least one antinode with respect to the object comprises varying an amplitude of the microwave radiation generated by at least one of the plurality of microwave radiation sources. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of microwave radiation sources comprises a metamaterial surface antenna. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein spatially varying the location of the at least one antinode with respect to the object comprises varying a phase of the microwave radiation generated by at least one of the plurality of microwave radiation sources. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein spatially varying the location of the at least one antinode with respect to an object comprises moving the object within the region. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein spatially varying the location of the at least one antinode with respect to an object comprises moving the plurality of microwave radiation sources with respect to the region. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein spatially varying the location of the at least one antinode comprises using a lens to focus the microwave radiation 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the lens comprises a meta-material lens. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating microwave radiation with an interference pattern comprises generating the interference pattern using a Moiré pattern generator. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising varying at least one attribute of the generated microwave radiation to maintain a temperature of the portion of the object below a threshold temperature. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising varying at least one attribute of the generated microwave radiation to maintain a rate of temperature increase of the portion of the object below a threshold rate of increase. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electroporation pattern comprises a stochastic pattern. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein electroporating the portion of the object comprises multiple passes of the at least one antinode using the stochastic pattern. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein electroporating at least a portion of the object to at least partially sterilize the portion of the object comprises electroporating the portion of the object using microwave radiation to achieve a specific amount of sterilization. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electroporation pattern is based on a three-dimensional model of the object. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the three-dimensional model comprises a model surface and a model interior, and wherein the electroporation pattern causes the at least one antinode to sterilize the model surface of the three-dimensional model more than the model interior. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 determining a shape associated with the object; and   
       selecting a particular three-dimensional model from a plurality of predefined three-dimensional models based on the shape associated with the object. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein electroporating at least a portion of the object further comprises introducing an electroporator to at least the portion of the object. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of microwave radiation sources comprises a magnetron. 
     
     
         20 . A method for sterilization via electroporation, the method comprising:
 directing microwave radiation within a volume, wherein an attribute of an electric field of the microwave radiation in at least one region within the volume is configured to cause electroporation of a cell wall;   electroporating at least a portion of the volume to at least partially sterilize the at least a portion of the volume using the microwave radiation;   varying at least one aspect of the directed microwave radiation to regulate an amount of energy transferred to the volume relative to an energy threshold.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the energy threshold is determined based at least partially on a composition associated with the object. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising cooling the volume when the amount of energy transferred to the volume exceeds the energy threshold by a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein varying at least one aspect of the directed microwave radiation to regulate an amount of energy transferred to the volume below an energy threshold comprises:
 comparing the amount of energy transferred to the volume to a first preliminary threshold, a second preliminary threshold, and the energy threshold, wherein the first preliminary threshold is less than the energy threshold and the second preliminary threshold is less than the energy threshold but greater than the first preliminary threshold;   varying a first aspect of the directed microwave radiation when the amount of energy transferred to the volume is above the first preliminary threshold;   varying a second aspect of the directed microwave radiation when the amount of energy transferred to the volume is above the second preliminary threshold, wherein the second aspect is different than the first aspect; and   performing a final action when the amount of energy transferred to the volume is at the energy threshold.