Cold atmospheric pressure plasma and decontamination. Can it contribute to preventing hospital-acquired infections?

Trial of a novel plasma gas disinfection system (Radica) to reduce mattress residual bacterial contamination in the acute hospital setting: a preliminary study

“…Plasma based disinfection has been the source of great interest in the scientific community in recent times and this is known to exhibit strong anti-microbial properties [10]. The agents, including radicals, produced by the plasma attack the outer membrane of pathogens present on the object being disinfected, destroying the DNA of the pathogen through the processes of oxidation and cell degradation.…”

High-touch surfaces: microbial neighbours at hand

“…New liquid disinfectants are under development and include: improved hydrogen peroxide disinfectants, effective in reducing bacterial levels on surfaces [74,75], related to fewer HAIs [76] and able to reduce contamination by MDR pathogens on soft surfaces such as bedside curtains [77]; peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide disinfectants, a sporicidal combination that was shown to lower bacterial levels on surfaces and to reduce the contamination by MRSA, VRE and C. difficile as effectively as sodium hypochlorite [78]; electrolyzed water (hypochlorous acid) disinfectant, which may reduce bacterial levels on surfaces near patients in a higher degree than quaternary ammonium disinfectants [79]; further promising, electrolyzed water has been sprayed onto medical equipment (with a short contact time and without the need for wiping because no toxic residue remains on surfaces) with a reduction of aerobic bacteria and C. difficile spores [80]; coldair atmospheric pressure plasma systems, which generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with bactericidal activity and have potential use as surface disinfectants [81,82]; nebulized polymeric guanidine, under investigation for its antimicrobial activity against several healthcare-associated pathogens [83].…”

Terminal sterilization: Conventional methods versus emerging cold atmospheric pressure plasma technology for non‐viable biological tissues

“…CAP technologies have been used effectively to eliminate microorganisms on living tissues in several clinical applications [8,80,[94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101] , including inactivation and eradication of fungi, and vegetative and spore-forming bacteria. [86,89,102] The microbial inactivation effect of CAP can be attained by direct exposure to both the ignited plasma discharge products such as ROS, RNS, UV radiation, or indirectly through the long-lived species that are capable to reach the treated substrate without the electric field effect [91] .…”