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Killing Microorganisms with the
One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP)
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There is an urgent need for the development of new technologies for sterilization and decontamination in the fields of healthcare and industrial and food processing that are safe, cost-effective, broad-spectrum, and not deleterious to samples.
One technology that meets these criteria is the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP). The OAUGDP operates in air and produces uniform plasma without filamentary discharges at room temperature, making this technology advantageous for sterilization of heat sensitive materials. The OAUGDP operates in a frequency band determined by the ion trapping mechanisms provided that, for air, the electric field is above 8.5kV/cm.
The OAUGDP efficiently generates plasma reactive oxygen species (ROS) including atomic oxygen and oxygen free radicals without the requirement of a vacuum system. We have demonstrated the efficacy of the OAUGDP in killing microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, viruses, and spores in seconds to minutes on a variety of surfaces such as glass, films and fabrics, stainless steel, paper, and agar.
Suzanne South, Kimberly Kelly-Wintenberg (Atmospheric Glow Technologies), T.C. Montie, J. Reece Roth (University of Tennessee), Daniel Sherman, Jim Morrison (Atmospheric Glow Technologies), ZhiYu Chen, Fuat Karakaya (University of Tennessee)
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Sterilization of Materials with a One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma.* (OAUGDP)
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The relatively recent development of the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma sterilization technique at the UTK Plasma Science Laboratory has produced initial results which indicate that the technique may have commercial potential. We have shown that active species in a OAUGDP can be applied to the sterilization of fabrics, films, solid materials, and microbiological culture media.
With a OAUGDP, we can eliminate the vacuum system which enforces batch processing and requires a continuous input of electrical power. With a OAUGDP, the exposure time is as little as 15 seconds. Sterilization of microorganisms with a kill ratio of 10E6 or higher, can be achieved with minimal unwanted byproducts and at less expense, compared to such conventional sterilization methods as autoclaving, ethylene oxide, or low pressure plasma treatment. This paper discusses the sterilization mechanisms of this new technique, and compares its advantages and disadvantages with other widely used techniques.
*1 Department of Microbiology, UTK
*2 UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) Research supported in part by the UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center and UTK Center for Materials Processing.
Yongmin Ku, C. Brickman, K. Tosh, K. Kelly-Wintenberg, T.C. Montie, P. Tsai, L. Wadsworth, J.Reece Roth (Electrical Engineering Department, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN)
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