Antisepsis of the follicular reservoir by treatment with tissue-tolerable plasma (TTP)

The application of tissue-tolerable electrical plasma (TTP) is highly efficient in skin antisepsis. However, the germs are not only located on the skin surface, but also in the hair follicles, from where they re-colonize the skin surface after antisepsis, e.g. The objective of the present study was to show that plasma is able to reach the follicular reservoir for antisepsis. For this purpose, a solution containing particulate chlorophyll dye had been applied onto porcine skin samples. The fluorescent properties of the dye changed during the plasma tissue interaction. The results demonstrate that TTP penetrates deep into the hair follicles, whereupon the hairs act as a conductor for the plasma. Therefore, it can be concluded that micro-organisms of the follicular reservoir are destroyed more efficiently by the plasma than by conventional liquid antiseptics.