The Ability to Assess the Bactericidal and Fungicidal Effect by Fluorescence of Proteins and Amino Acids

When studying the antimicrobial effect of various physical factors, it is useful to monitor the changes occurring with a biological object. Proteins are the main components of living cells, thus, damage to the structure of proteins and their amino acids can be a critical factor that is responsible for the death of microorganisms. UV absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra for albumin, tyrosine, and tryptophan after the action of pulsed radiation of hot plasma of the IR10 generator were studied. The fluorescence of model solutions of albumin, tyrosine, and tryptophan was compared with the fungicidal effect of an aqueous suspension of Aspergillus niger micromycetes and the bactericidal effect of E. coli depending on the dose of pulsed radiation of hot plasma spark discharge. It has been established that a decrease in fluorescence yield correlates with fungicidal effects, thus, measurements of protein and amino acid fluorescence can be used to quickly assess the possibility of damage to biological objects. The bactericidal effect is much stronger than the fungicidal effect, which indicates the predominance of mechanisms that do not affect fluorescence.