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Featured Application: The objective of the work is to assess the use of non-thermal multi plasma jets for the treatment of infected and chronic wounds in the context of hospital centers. This work is a contribution to the development and implementation of non-thermal plasma technology for decontamination in the perspective of nosocomial and chronic wound innovative therapies. Multi jets devices based on Plasma Gun® technology in static and scanning operation modes and bacterial lawns inoculated with resistant and non-resistant bacterial strains were designed and used. A pilot toxicity study exploring plasma treatment of wound bearing patients, performed with a low voltage plasma applicator, is documented as a first step for the translation of in vitro experiments to clinical care. Bacterial inactivation was demonstrated for Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and drug resistant S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and Escherichia Coli strains collected from patient wounds at Orleans (France) hospital. A few square centimeter large contaminated samples were inactivated following a single plasma exposure as short as one minute. Samples inoculated with a single but also a mix of three resistant pathogens were successfully inactivated not only right after their contamination but for mature lawns as well. Similar bactericidal action was demonstrated for antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant P. aeruginosa. The time exposure dependent increase of the inhibition spots, following multi jets exposure, is discussed as either the accumulation of reactive species or the likely combinatory action of both the reactive species and transient electric field delivery on inoculated samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this experiment is to enhance selected species in atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) that might be helpful for the wound healing purpose and to test the performance using basic diagnosis in plasma-treated liquid. A homemade APPJ device is driven by sinusoidal voltage with a excitation frequency of 25 kHz. Argon with admixture of small percentage of nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor was selected to be carrier gas as the main sources of reactive species. Discharge power consumption is calculated by two approaches. Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in the excited states are characterized by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Excitation temperature $T_{\mathrm {exc}}$ in argon plasmas is calculated to estimate the electron energy distribution. The results show that argon plasmas with small addition of nitrogen and oxygen in this jet configuration are more efficient to generate desired reactive species in terms of OES diagnosis and liquid acidification. Moreover, the distinct efficiency of liquid acidification between direct and indirect plasma treatment of liquid has also been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma medicine is a rapidly advancing field. As one promising application, cold plasma has been ascribed a beneficial role in wound healing in which monocytes/macrophages play an important part. Wound healing and many other physiological and pathological processes are subject to redox control. Cold plasma expels reactive species of many kinds, thereby altering the redox state and mediating cell and tissue responses. Controlling this species efflux could be a valuable asset to control biological effects. We, therefore, investigated the biological response of a plasma treatment regimen that was gas shielded from the ambient environment. In this gas curtain, several N2:O2 ratios were investigated, and we discovered a modulation within the composition of active compounds (NO-2 , NO-3 , and H2O2) in physiological solutions. Using a human monocyte cell line, the cell's scavenging activity toward these molecules was assessed. With regard to cellular processes important in wound healing, such as cytokines release, O2 shielding provided stronger stimulation compared to N2 shielding. Altogether, the results support the idea that tuning the plasma-derived reactive species composition may be an interesting approach to improve plasma medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated a nonthermal plasma jet for a respective use to prevent infections from bacteria and yeasts. The plasma jet is generated from the flow of ambient air with 8 slm through a microhollow cathode discharge assembly that is operated with a direct current of 30 mA. With these parameters, the temperature in the jet reaches 43 ^\circ\C at 10 mm from the discharge. Agar plates that were inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Candida kefyr were treated at this distance, moving the plates through the jet in a meander that covered a 2 cm by 2 cm area. Different exposure times were realized by changing the speed of the movement and adjusting the distance between consecutive passes. S. aureus was most responsive to the exposure with a reduction in the number of colony forming units of 5.5 log steps in 40 s. All other microorganisms show a more gradual inactivation with exposure times. For all bacteria, a clearing of the treated area is achieved in about 2.5–3.5 min, corresponding to log-reduction factors of 5.5–6.5. Complete inactivation of the yeast requires about 7 min. Both S. aureus and C. kefyr show considerable inactivation also outside the immediate treatment area, while P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii do not. We conclude that differences in the morphologies of the membrane structures are responsible for the diverging results, together with a targeted response to different agents provided with the plasma jet. For the gram negative bacteria, we hold short-lived agents, acting across a short range, responsible, while for the other microorganisms, longer lived species seem more important. Our measurements show that neither heat, ultraviolet radiation, nor the generation of ozone can be responsible for the observed results. The most prominent long lived reaction product found is nitric oxide, which, by itself or through induced chemical reactions, might affect cell viability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]