Nonthermal plasma — A tool for decontamination and disinfection

• Published in: Biotechnology advances Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 1108 - 1119
• Main Authors: Scholtz, Vladimir, Pazlarova, Jarmila, Souskova, Hana, Khun, Josef, Julak, Jaroslav
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.11.2015
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Biofilm inactivation; Biofilms; Biological; Biotechnology application; Decontamination; Disinfection; Food Packaging; Food safety; Humans; Inactivation; Medical application; Microbial decontamination; Microbicidal effect; Neoplasms - therapy; Nonthermal plasma; Plasma Gases - pharmacology; Prions; Therapy; Water cleaning; Water Purification; Nonthermal plasma; Biofilm inactivation; Water cleaning; Disinfection; Biotechnology application; Microbial decontamination; Food safety; Microbicidal effect; Medical application
• ISSN: 0734-9750; 1873-1899
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2015.01.002

By definition, the nonthermal plasma (NTP) is partially ionized gas where the energy is stored mostly in the free electrons and the overall temperature remains low. NTP is widely used for many years in various applications such as low-temperature plasma chemistry, removal of gaseous pollutants, in gas-discharge lamps or surface modification. However, during the last ten years, NTP usage expanded to new biological areas of application like plasma microorganisms' inactivation, ready-to-eat food preparation, biofilm degradation or in healthcare, where it seems to be important for the treatment of cancer cells and in the initiation of apoptosis, prion inactivation, prevention of nosocomial infections or in the therapy of infected wounds. These areas are presented and documented in this paper as a review of representative publications.