A surface dielectric barrier discharge reactor for biological treatments

Abstract

Antimicrobial plasma effects are promising for therapeutic applications like wound healing, cancer/tumor treatment, or pathogen-associated skin or dental diseases, but also in hygiene, food, and agriculture processing. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) reactors are the most widely used systems for antimicrobial purposes because they can use atmospheric air as a gas, do not require a vacuum, and are simple, inexpensive, and easy to use. However, when DBD plasma is applied directly to the biological sample, discharge current may pass through the biological sample, causing the plasma to transit to spark discharge and thus causing damage to the biological sample. Since Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (SDBD) plasmas can be generated far from the sample, they offer great advantages in the application of non-thermal plasma in extremely large volumes. While SDBD plasmas are generally generated on the lid of the container in which the sample is placed and the plasma species are expected to reach the sample, in this study, SDBD plasmas were produced on the container itself. A new SDBD reactor that can be applied to samples of various sizes and properties for antimicrobial purposes was manufactured. Gram-negative E. coli, gram-positive S. aureus and E. faecalis planktonic bacteria were placed in the reactor and inactivated for 10 min by exposure to non-thermal plasma. A plasma sterilization unit with 31.4 W power, practical, user-friendly, developed for bio-applications, with a 6.2-liter capacity.