Assessment of the Potential Antimicrobial Effect of Low-Temperature Argon Plasma in Vitro

Background. Low-temperature argon plasma is widely studied as an alternative approach to control resistant microorganisms when the effectiveness of antibiotics and antiseptics is reduced due to the natural resistance of pathogens or biofilms. Purpose. Assessment of the survival rate of pathogenic microorganisms under the influence of low-temperature argon plasma (LTAP) factors in vitro. Materials and methods. The object of the study was the effect of LTAP factors on the survival of pathogenic microorganisms in vitro. The LTAP source is the plasma-arc installation “PLAZMORAN” (Russia). The bacterial strains studied were pure cultures of clinical strains of microorganisms. Strains of gram-negative bacteria K.pneumoniae, P.aeruginosa, A.baumanii, E.coli, gram-positive bacteria MRSA, and yeast of the genus C.albicans. Results. The results of assessing the impact of LTAP factors on the survival of microorganisms showed their pronounced antimicrobial effect under a certain set of control, geometric and temporal parameters. The antimicrobial effect of LTAP is the death of microorganisms, including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and yeast.The results of the study showed that when a certain dose of exposure to a combination of LTAP factors is reached, the microorganisms die. Conclusion. LTAP has a pronounced antimicrobial effect, both when acting on monocultures and possibly on microbial associations and microbial biofilms. However, the effect of LTAP on associative microbial cultures requires additional study.