Inactivation Effect of Low-Temperature Plasma on Pseudomonas aeruginosa for Nosocomial Anti-Infection

Disinfection and sterilization in hospitals and other public places have always been the focus of attention. In our studies, dielectric barrier corona discharge (DBCD) was used to generate low-temperature plasma (LTP) to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa, one kind of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections). The survival colonies of P. aeruginosa were counted with the standard plate-counting method after 30-, 60-, 90-, and 120-s exposures to DBCD. We discovered that LTP could lead to more than 5-log reduction of P. aeruginosa after 120-s treatment. Further experiments indicated that OH and excited N₂ in LTP and lower pH value in bacterial suspension might synergistically inactivate P. aeruginosa by destroying its outer structure.