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Background: Cold plasma, a new treatment principle in dermatology based on ionic discharge delivering reactive molecular species and UV-light, exhibits strong antimicrobial efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Before implementing plasma as new medical treatment tool, its safety must be proven, as well as assessing skin tolerance and patient acceptance., Patients and Methods: We investigated the plasma effects of three different plasma sources (pulsed, non-pulsed atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)) on the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin moisture after treating the fingertips of four healthy male volunteers., Results: TEWL values were reduced by pulsed APPJ and DBD by about 20% but increased after non-pulsed APPJ by 5-20%. TEWL values normalized 30 min after all forms of plasma treatment. Skin moisture was increased immediately and 30 min after treatment with pulsed APPJ but was not affected by non-pulsed APPJ and DBD., Conclusions: All plasma treatments were well-tolerated and did not damage the skin barrier nor cause skin dryness. Cold plasma fulfils basic recommendations for safe use on human skin and as future option may serve as the first physical skin antiseptic., (© The Authors • Journal compilation © Blackwell Verlag GmbH, Berlin.)

A substantial extension of the applicability of hydrogen peroxide will be reached by using occlusion compounds of anionic, amphoteric (dipolar ionic), cationic, nonionic, or polyfunctional tensides with hydrogen peroxide in urea. Occlusion compounds with 3 as well as with 4 components containing natural equivalent and antimicrobial effective tensides were synthesized and tested. By synthesis in an anhydrous system the content of active substances as well as the mixture ratio of the components may be adapted to the conditions necessary according to the appropriate purpose. Occlusion compounds are characterized by a broad and well-balanced spectrum of antimicrobial effectivity. Concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 0.4% are practicable to preserve pharmaceutical preparations or technical products, respectively. Several compounds show a sporicidal activity in concentrations between 0.3 and 0.6% and, with an appropriate action time (> 24 h) also a moderate effectivity against polioviruses. In the conventional cell culture, in the perfusion cell culture, and in the phytotoxicity test using cress seed, respectively, low biological activity of the occlusion compounds was found.