Nonequilibrium Plasma-Activated Antimicrobial Solutions are Broad-Spectrum and Retain their Efficacies for Extended Period of Time

• Published in: Plasma processes and polymers 2013-06, Vol.10 (6), p.544-555
• Main Authors: Ercan, Utku K., Wang, Hong, Ji, Haifeng, Fridman, Gregory, Brooks, Ari D., Joshi, Suresh G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acinetobacter baumannii; antibiofilm agent; Antimicrobial agents; antimicrobial solution; Electric discharges; Exact sciences and technology; nonthermal plasma; Other gas discharges; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma; reactive oxygen species
• ISSN: 1612-8850; 1612-8869
• DOI: 10.1002/ppap.201200104

By applying dielectric‐barrier discharge nonthermal plasma technique, we have treated fluids and generated antimicrobial solutions, tested for properties such as changes in pH, temperature, delay time, holding time, fluid‐aging, and detection and comparison of acid and hydrogen peroxide. All plasma‐treated solutions showed strong biocidal activity, and among them, NAC solution was the most powerful, inactivated biofilms of tested microorganisms in 15 min of holding time. During accelerated aging experiments, plasma‐treated NAC solution exhibited the equivalent of two years of shelf. These results indicate that it retained its antimicrobial properties for an extended period against a wide range of multidrug‐resistant pathogens, making it an excellent candidate for further testing in vivo. Application of dielectric‐barrier discharge, room temperature atmospheric plasma has been demonstrated to activate simple solutions to turn into potent antimicrobial solutions. These solutions have a broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity, retained for about two years, which inactivates pathogens in their biofilm forms too in 3 min of plasma activation at 15 min of contact (holding) time.