Inactivation of Escherichia coli using atmospheric-pressure plasma jet

Abstract

An atmospheric-pressure argon (Ar) plasma jet was applied to the inactivation of Escherichia coli. The Ar plasma jet was generated at a frequency of 10 kHz, an applied voltage of 10 kV, and an Ar gas flow rate of 10 L/min at atmospheric pressure. E. coli cells seeded on an agar medium in a Petri dish were inactivated by Ar plasma jet irradiation for 1 s. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that E. coli cells were killed because their cell wall and membrane were disrupted. To determine the causes of the disruption of the cell wall and membrane of E. coli, we performed the following experiments: the measurement of the surface temperature of an agar medium using a thermograph, the analysis of an emission spectrum of a plasma jet obtained using a multichannel spectrometer, and the determination of the distribution of the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generated on an agar medium by plasma jet irradiation using semiquantitative test strips. Moreover, H2O2 solutions of different concentrations were dropped onto an agar medium seeded with E. coli cells to examine the contribution of H2O2 to the death of E. coli. The results of these experiments showed that the cell wall and membrane of E. coli were disrupted by electrons in the plasma jet, as well as by electroneutral excited nitrogen molecules (N2) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals in the periphery of the plasma jet.