Destruction of Bacillus Subtilis cells using an atmospheric-pressure capillary plasma electrode discharge

Author

Panikov, N.S. ; Paduraru, S. ; Crowe, R. ; Ricatto, P.J. ; Christodoulatos, C. ; Becker, K.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Chem. & Chem. Biol., Stevens Inst. of Technol., Hoboken, NJ, USA

Volume

30

Issue

4

fYear

2002

fDate

8/1/2002 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1424

Lastpage

1428

Abstract

We report the results of experiments aimed at the investigation of the destruction of spore-forming bacteria, which are believed to be among the most resistant micro-organisms, using a novel atmospheric-pressure capillary plasma electrode discharge plasma. Various well-characterized cultures of Bacillus Subtilis were prepared, subjected to atmospheric-pressure plasma jets emanating from a plasma-shower reactor operated either in He or in air (N₂/O₂ mixture) at various power levels and exposure times, and analyzed after plasma treatment. Reductions in colony-forming units ranged from 10⁴ (He plasma) to 10⁸ (air plasma) for plasma exposure times of less than 10 min.

Keywords

biological effects of radiation; biological techniques; cellular biophysics; discharges (electric); microorganisms; plasma applications; Bacillus Subtilis cells destruction; He; N₂/O₂ mixture; air; atmospheric-pressure; capillary plasma electrode discharge; colony-forming units; exposure times; micro-organisms; plasma exposure times; plasma jets; plasma treatment; plasma-shower reactor; spore-forming bacteria; well-characterized cultures; Atmospheric-pressure plasmas; Chemical technology; Electrodes; Helium; Immune system; Inductors; Microorganisms; Physics; Plasma applications; Plasma chemistry;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPS.2002.804195

Filename

1167634