Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies and ‡College of Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Mar 15;50(6):3184-92. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b05108. Epub 2016 Feb 24.
Disinfection of hazardous microorganisms that may challenge environmental safety is a crucial issue for economic and public health. Here, we explore the potential of a novel electrochemical disinfectant named plasma activated water (PAW), which was generated by nonthermal plasma, for inactivating Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Meanwhile, the influence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the PAW disinfection efficacy was investigated. In the presence of BSA, PAW treatments achieved a reduction of S. aureus ranging from 2.1 to 5.5 Log, when without BSA it reached 7 Log. The sterilization efficacy depended on the PAW treatment time of S. aureus and plasma activation time for PAW generation. The results of electron spin resonance spectra showed the concentrations of hydroxyl radical (OH•) and nitric oxide radical (NO•) in water activated by plasma for 10 min (10-PAW) were higher than those in water activated by plasma for 5 min (5-PAW). Additionally, the physiological analysis of S. aureus demonstrated that the integrity of cell membrane, membrane potential, and intracellular pH homeostasis as well as DNA structure were damaged by PAW, and the molecule structure and chemical bonds of S. aureus were also altered due to PAW. Thus, PAW can be a promising chemical-free and environmentally friendly electrochemical disinfectant for application in the medical and food industries.
消毒可能对环境安全构成挑战的有害微生物是经济和公共卫生的关键问题。在这里，我们探索了一种新型电化学消毒剂——等离子体激活水（PAW）的潜力，该消毒剂由非热等离子体产生，用于灭活金黄色葡萄球菌（S. aureus）。同时，研究了牛血清白蛋白（BSA）对 PAW 消毒效果的影响。在有 BSA 的情况下，PAW 处理可使金黄色葡萄球菌减少 2.1 到 5.5 Log，而无 BSA 时则减少 7 Log。杀菌效果取决于 PAW 处理金黄色葡萄球菌的时间和产生 PAW 的等离子体激活时间。电子顺磁共振波谱的结果表明，等离子体激活 10 分钟（10-PAW）的水中羟基自由基（OH•）和一氧化氮自由基（NO•）的浓度高于等离子体激活 5 分钟（5-PAW）的水中浓度。此外，金黄色葡萄球菌的生理分析表明，PAW 破坏了细胞膜的完整性、膜电位和细胞内 pH 动态平衡以及 DNA 结构，并且由于 PAW，金黄色葡萄球菌的分子结构和化学键也发生了改变。因此，PAW 可以成为一种有前途的无化学物质、环保型电化学消毒剂，可应用于医疗和食品工业。
