Applied Microbiology: Open Access
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Editorial - (2015) Volume 1, Issue 1

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Microbiological Application of Gas Plasma Technology

Sakudo A1* and Shintani H2
1Laboratory of Biometabolic Chemistry, School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
2Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan
*Corresponding Author: Sakudo A, Laboratory of Biometabolic Chemistry, School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan, Tel: +917556660006 Email:

Editorial

Gas plasma is considered the fourth state of matter after gases, solids and liquids. In nature, more than 99% of matter is in the gas plasma state, including the interior of stars as well as aurora and thunder [1]. Gas plasma can be artificially generated by various types of discharge including arc, corona, DC (direct current), glow, high/low frequency, micro, pulse, and streamer.

The practical application of gas plasma technology is very broad and includes energy production, medicine, dentistry, material processing, environmental science and agriculture [2-4]. Of particular importance is the recent development of gas plasma technology for microbiological applications [4].

Microbiological risk factors are important issues in medicine, dentistry and agriculture. Effective antisepsis, disinfection and sterilization of medical devices is crucial for preventing infection, controlling contamination and eliminating iatrogenic diseases. Sources of microbial contamination include seeds, water, soil and fertilizer in addition to dust, insects, animal feces and field workers. Equipment and tools used during the pre-harvest/harvesting period and transportation/packaging of agricultural products as well as food processing machinery should be thoroughly disinfected and decontaminated. Therefore, it is crucial to develop novel methods of disinfection and sterilization. Recently, the effectiveness of gas plasma technology to eradicate various types of microbes such as viruses, bacteria and fungi as well as toxins has been demonstrated [5-11]. In this regard, gas plasma technology is a promising method for achieving disinfection and sterilization in a broad range of applications and will thereby contribute to preventing the spread of harmful microbes [12].

Taken together, gas plasma technology provides an excellent platform for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. We believe that new developments in gas plasma technology will further improve the effectiveness of this methodology.

References

  1. Laroussi M, Kong MG, Morfill G, Stolz W (2012) Plasma Medicine: Applications of Low-Temperature Gas Plasmas in Medicine and Biology.  Cambridge University Press, London.
  2. Sakudo A, Shintani H (2011) Sterilization and disinfection by plasma: Sterilization mechanisms, biological and medical applications. NOVA Science Publishers, New York.
  3. Shintani H, Sakudo A (2016) Gas Plasma Sterilization in Microbiology: Theory, Applications, Pitfalls and New Perspectives. London.
  4. Sakudo A, Misawa T, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y (2014) N2 gas plasma inactivates influenza virus mediated by oxidative stress. Front Biosci (Elite Ed) 6:69-79.
  5. Sakudo A, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y, Ikuta K (2013) N2 gas plasma inactivates influenza virus by inducing changes in viral surface morphology, protein, and genomic RNA. Biomed Res Int69: 42-69.
  6. Sakudo A, Higa M, Maeda K, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y et al. (2013) Sterilization mechanism of nitrogen gas plasma: induction of secondary structural change in protein. MicrobiolImmunol 57:536-542.
  7. Shintani H, Sakudo A, Burke P, McDonnell G (2010) Gas plasma sterilization of microorganisms and mechanisms of action. ExpTher Med 1:731-738.
  8. Maeda K, Toyokawa Y, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y, Sakudo A (2015) Inactivation of Salmonella by nitrogen gas plasma generated by a static induction thyristor as a pulsed power supply. Food Control 52:54-59.
  9. Shintani H (2015) Current Gas Plasma Sterilization Procedure and Its Future Trends. Pharm Anal Acta 6:e178.
  10. Shintani H, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y, Sekiya T, Tamazawa K, et al.  (2007) Inactivation of microorganisms and endotoxins by low temperature nitrogen gas plasma exposure. Biocontrol Sci 12:131-143.
  11. Sakudo A (2013) An Introduction to Myself and My Current Research Interests. Clin Microbial 1: e102.
Citation: Sakudo A, Shintani H (2015) Microbiological Application of Gas Plasma Technology. Appl Microbio Open Access 1: e101.

Copyright: © 2015 Sakudo A et al., This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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