Effect of the plasma pencil on different bacteria genera

Summary form only given. As low-temperature nonequilibrium plasmas come to play an increasing role in biomedical applications, reliable and user friendly sources need to be developed. These plasma sources have to meet stringent requirements such as low temperature (at or near room temperature), operation at atmospheric pressure, portability, etc. We have recently developed a plasma pencil that is portable and capable of launching a stable cold plasma plume. In addition to briefly describing the device, this poster reports mainly on its bactericidal properties. The combination of charged particles, free radicals, and UV light generated by the plasma plume can result in damage and destruction of bacterial cells. In this study we determine the effect of the plasma pencil on different bacterial genera. Bacteria were subjected to various plasma plumes (helium plusmn oxygen) both on plates and in liquid culture. The effect of plasma treatment on plates was measured as a zone of no growth from a central point of exposure; colony forming units were used to determine any effect in liquid culture. Exposure of different bacteria (gram positive and gram negative) to the plasma plume resulted in differences in the killing effect of the plasma on agar surfaces depending on the organism, whereas little effect was seen in liquid culture. These results suggest that cold plasma maybe useful as a sterilizing agent for surfaces, but not necessarily for liquid samples. Potential applications of the plasma pencil are in various biomedical applications including surface decontamination and dental hygiene