Plasma-Activated Solutions for Bacteria and Biofilm Inactivation

Abstract

Background: Plasma-activated solutions can be obtained by exposing deionized water, saline, and citrate solution to microhollow cathode discharge. Those plasma-activated solutions showed different temporal post-discharge effects, and those plasma-activated solutions demonstrated varied antibacterial activity. Antibacterial activity of three types of plasma-activated solutions was investigated on Escherichia coli (E. coli, gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, gram-positive). Plasmaactivated water (PAW) and plasma-activated saline (PAS) were much more potent than plasma-activated citrate solution (PAC) as inactivating on both bacteria. Although plasma-activated solutions did not have noticeable effects on biofilm structures, they diffused freely in biofilms and inactivated bacteria in biofilm effectively and efficiently, resulting in bacterial cell membrane damage. Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, biofilms, plasma-activated solutions, antibacterial, plasma discharge, sterilization.