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Bio-Decontamination of Water and Surfaces by DC Discharges in Atmospheric Air

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Plasma for Bio-Decontamination, Medicine and Food Security

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Abstract

Two types of DC-driven atmospheric air discharges, including a streamer corona and a transient spark with short high current pulses of limited energy, were employed for bio-decontamination of water and various surfaces (agar plates, plastic foils, human teeth) contaminated by bacteria or spores (Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus). Both discharges generate cold non-equilibrium plasma. The discharges combined with the electro-spraying of the treated water through the needle electrode lead to fast and efficient bio-decontamination. Experiments comparing direct and indirect plasma effects, oxidation stress measurements in the cell membranes, and chemical changes induced in the treated water enable assessment of the plasma agents being responsible for microbial inactivation. Radicals and reactive oxygen species seem to be dominant biocidal agents, although deeper understanding of the plasma-induced water chemistry and of the temporal evolution of the bio-inactivation processes is needed.

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Acknowledgments

Effort sponsored by Slovak grant agency VEGA 1/0668/11 and 1/0711/09, Slovak Research and Development Agency APVV SK-CZ-0179-09. The human teeth were provided by patients of Dr. O. Šipoldová. We thank P. Lukeš (IPP Prague) for his motivating ideas, and I. Jedlovský and B. Pongrác (FMFI Bratislava) for assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Environmental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina F2, 84248, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Zdenko Machala, Karol Hensel & Mário Janda

  2. Division of Biomedical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina F2, 84248, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Barbora Tarabová, Michal Pelach, Zuzana Šipoldová & Libuša Šikurová

Authors
  1. Zdenko Machala
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  2. Barbora Tarabová
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  3. Michal Pelach
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  4. Zuzana Šipoldová
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  5. Karol Hensel
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  6. Mário Janda
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  7. Libuša Šikurová
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Correspondence to Zdenko Machala .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Math., Phys. and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska Dolina, Bratislava, 84248, Slovakia

    Zdenko Machala

  2. , Faculty of Math., Phys. and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska Dolina, Bratislava, 84248, Slovakia

    Karol Hensel

  3. SRC RF Triniti, Pushkovykh 12, Troitsk, 142190, Russia

    Yuri Akishev

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Machala, Z. et al. (2012). Bio-Decontamination of Water and Surfaces by DC Discharges in Atmospheric Air. In: Machala, Z., Hensel, K., Akishev, Y. (eds) Plasma for Bio-Decontamination, Medicine and Food Security. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series A: Chemistry and Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2852-3_3

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