482. Exploring the potential of cold plasma therapy in treating bacterial infections in veterinar…

Fig. 1 Application of cold plasma to different sections of cells.

Fig. 2 Schematics of cold plasma effect on gram-negative and positive bacteria.

Parvin Mohseni, et al, Front. Vet. Sci. 10, 1240596 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1240596

(1) Among the bacterial protagonists are Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp., and Actinobacillus spp.
(2) Staphylococcus species establish their dominion on skin and mucous membranes, ushering in mastitis among dairy cows, a condition that exacts significant tolls on the dairy industry.
(3) Cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) are often non-equilibrium plasmas that contain different reactive species like ions, radicals, and excited molecules, which makes them particularly valuable for purposes such as surface modification, sterilization, and biomedical applications.
(4) Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) play a critical role in the breakdown of extracellular matrix components, underpinning essential physiological processes such as tissue remodeling, wound healing, inflammation, and immune responses.
(5) The alignment between CAP and MMPs presents a novel avenue for enhancing veterinary therapeutic approaches and warrants further exploration.
(6) In environmental, biological, and biomedical applications, the commonly utilized methods for CP generation are DBD and plasma jet.
(7) Atmospheric air CP, in particular, contains a diverse array of reactive agents, including electrons, positive and negative ions, free radicals, stable conversion products like ozone, excited atoms and molecules, and UV photons.
(8) These reactive oxygen species (ROS) consist of atomic oxygen, singlet oxygen, superoxide anion, and ozone. Reactive nitrogen species (RNS), such as atomic nitrogen, excited nitrogen, and nitric oxide, are also generated. In the presence of humidity, additional species such as H2O+, OH anion, OH radicals, or H2O2 can be produced. These reactive species, combined with UV radiation and charged particles, contribute to the antimicrobial properties exhibited by plasma. Among these reactive species, ozone, atomic oxygen, singlet oxygen, superoxide, peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals are believed to play a role in the inactivation of bacteria.
(9) The effectiveness of CP in reducing microbial growth is influenced by various factors, including environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity, food properties like moisture content, pH, product composition, surface properties, and surface area/volume ratio, as well as processing parameters including voltage, frequency, gas composition, flow rate, treatment time, electrode type, interelectrode gap, headspace, and exposure pattern time. Additionally, characteristics of the microorganisms themselves, such as type, strain, growth phase, and initial count, also play a role in the efficacy of CP treatment.
(10) The primary impacts from CP encompass damage to the bacterial cell membrane, intracellular protein damage, and direct DNA damage. The presence of loaded particles, such as ions and electrons, gives rise to an electrostatic field that permeates the bacterial cell wall, resulting in the breakage of chemical bonds, erosion, and the formation of lesions and openings in the membranes.
(11) One of the most notable advantages of implementing CP is its capability to eradicate a wide spectrum of bacteria, which includes strains that are resistant to antibiotics. Moreover, it can boost the immune system and expedite the process of wound healing.