Optimization of plasma-activated media generation for decontamination of thermally sensitive materials
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The plasma-activated gaseous media can decontaminate surfaces of different materials at remote distances. Thus, this work's main aim was to determine parameters for efficient decontamination and/or sterilization of thermally sensitive materials at atmospheric pressure. For this purpose, the multi-hollow surface dielectric barrier discharge was used for plasma activation of gaseous media to produce an atmosphere with a high ratio of hydrogen peroxide and/or ozone. These active species were generated in pure water vapor [1] and oxygen with an admixture of water vapor. The thermal and electrical properties of the used plasma source were measured. Optical emission spectroscopy was used to analyze the characteristics of generated plasma. The reactive species in plasma-activated gas and condensed activated vapor were detected and compared for different plasma parameters, such as water vapor concentration, gas flow and source power input. The generated media was then applied to microorganisms in the form of planktonic bacteria, bacterial biofilm, and biological indicators for standard sterilizers. The germicidal efficiency of short and long-time exposure to plasma-activated media was evaluated by standard microbiological cultivation and fluorescence analysis using a fluorescence multi-well plate reader. The test was repeated at different distances from the surface of the plasma source. The decontamination efficiency of plasma-activated water vapor increased with the exposure time and the plasma source power input. Similar results were obtained for the decontamination by plasma-activated oxygen and oxygen with the admixture of water vapor. The main results of the optimization process are a prototype of the decontamination chamber and verified technology for the construction of scalable commercial plasma devices for utilization in medicine and bioresearch. |
| Related projects: |