Viral inactivation by a one atmosphere uniform glow discharge plasma

Abstract

There is an urgent need for development of new technologies to sterilize medical devices and instrumentation including those that would destroy viruses and emerging pathogens such as prions. We have previously demonstrated the efficacy of the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) in killing bacteria and spores in seconds to minutes. The OAUGDP operates in air and produces a uniform glow discharge plasma without filamentary discharges at room temperature, which is advantageous for sterilization of heat sensitive biologicals. The OAUGDP operates in a frequency band determined by the ion trapping mechanism provided that, for air, the electric field is above 8.5 kV/cm. The OAUGDP efficiently generates plasma reactive oxygen species (ROS) including atomic oxygen and oxygen free radicals without the requirement of a vacuum system. Recent experiments using the OAUGDP parallel plate technology have been applied to the study of viral inactivation. Viral simulants, PhiX174 and T2, were used in studies of viral inactivation on different surfaces including glass, polypropylene, and agar. The virus population was reduced five logs in 3-6 min after exposure on polypropylene or agar. Lyophilized virus was inactivated by two logs in one minute and five logs in five to nine minutes after direct exposure in the parallel plate reactor. The use of a Remote Exposure Reactor should significantly improve the outcome of future viral inactivation experiments.