Non-Thermal Plasma as a Novel Strategy for Treating or Preventing Viral Infection and Associated Disease

Hager Mohamed,Nicole Rendine,Vandana Miller,Gaurav Nayak,Peter J Bruggeman,Brian Wigdahl,Fred C Krebs

doi:10.3389/fphy.2021.683118

Hager Mohamed, Nicole Rendine + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2021.683118

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Abstract

Pathogenic viruses cause many human, animal, and plant diseases that are associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and socio-economic impact. Although effective strategies for combatting virus transmission and associated disease are available, global outbreaks of viral pathogens such as the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate that there is still a critical need for new approaches that can be used to interrupt the chain of viral infection and mitigate virus-associated pathogenesis. Recent studies point to non-thermal plasma (NTP), a partly ionized gas comprised of a complex mixture of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species along with physical effectors, as the potential foundation for new antiviral approaches. A more thorough understanding of the antiviral properties and safety of NTP has stimulated explorations of NTP as the basis for treatments of viral diseases. The recently described immunomodulatory properties of NTP are also being evaluated for potential use in immunotherapies of viral diseases as well as in antiviral vaccination strategies. In this review, we present the current state-of-the-art in addition to compelling arguments that NTP merits further exploration for use in the prevention and management of viral infections and associated diseases.

Highlights

Viruses are a major group of ubiquitously present microbes responsible for many acute and chronic infectious diseases
Note that liquid agitated by a jet airflow will lead to convection of the virus particles in the solution, which might lead to significantly different efficacies compared to treatment of bacterial biofilms or cells attached to the bottom of a well, where plasma-produced species have to be transported through a liquid layer before reaching the cells
While further research in this area is needed to assess whether the effectiveness of non-thermal plasma (NTP) against different virus can be impacted by plasma conditions, the complex mixture of reactive species produced by NTP might overcome some of the virus-specific differences observed with other non-thermal technologies, such as O3 or ultraviolet light (UV), which might be favored because of specific chemical compositions of the RNA, DNA, or proteins in the virus capsid and coating

Summary

Introduction

Viruses are a major group of ubiquitously present microbes responsible for many acute and chronic infectious diseases. There has been increased interest in defining roles for non-thermal plasma (NTP), an ionized gas containing a complex mixture of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, in strategies effective against viral infection and disease.

Results

Conclusion